Yoh and the Oni
by ShatteredLyre
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl who fell in love and are about to live happily ever after. However, this story isn't about them. This story is about an oni and the boy who saved her. This is about Anna and Yoh. Retelling of Beauty & the Beast
1. Tale as old as time

**I. Tale as old as time**

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Once upon a time in the cozy little village nestled at the foot of Funbari Hill, there was a boy and a girl who fell in love and got engaged and are about to live happily ever after. However, this isn't about them. This story is about an oni and the boy who saved her. This is about Anna and Yoh. Now, dear readers, let's go to the Onsen Village where our story takes place.

"Ren! I'm taking the blanket with me for the trip," Jun called out, cupping her mouth with her hands (one which was recently adorned with an engagement ring). After no response, she yelled again. "Ren, did you hear--"

The irritable younger Tao emerged from his room. "Yes, yes, I heard you," he snapped. "Great Spirit, when are you and Bailong just going to leave..." he growled under his breath.

"Okay, I think I got everything," Jun said breathlessly as she pulled her cloak around her finest dress. "We're off now, Ren! We'll be back in--"

"I know, I know, you've only told me a million times—you'll be back in two months," he said dismissively. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hmm?" Jun paused and thought for a moment.

He coughed.

"What are you talking--Oh!" Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh, dear. How did I forget? I was so busy, I can't believe I didn't—Well, let's hurry now. Bailong and I need to leave soon." She turned around several times, completely flustered. "Bason? Bason!"

The Tao family's guardian appeared. "You called, Miss Jun?"

"Could you be so kind as to be our witness?" The former Chinese general nodded as Jun turned to face her younger brother and cleared her throat. "As Onsen's village leader, I hereby grant you temporary leadership in my absence. All your authority is to be revoked as soon as I return," she stated quickly and mechanically. "Witness?"

"As your witness, I bind myself to seeing that these oaths are upheld."

Jun gave one last look at Ren before breaking into a smile. "Take care of the village, Ren."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course. Now go get married."

She nodded, took Bailong's hand and waved goodbye to Bason and Ren. The two stood in silence until Ren threw his head back and exhaled sharply. "Finally, maybe I'll start getting some respect around here. When Horohoro became the other village leader…" His eye twitched at the thought. Ever since the elders could remember, the Taos had been the leaders of the village. However, when the Usui family recently moved down from the north and Horohoro was born the same day as Ren was, the Taos considered this to be a sign of some sort and joyously invited the Usuis to share their leadership. And right when Horohoro turned eighteen, he was initiated and joined Jun at the head of the council.

_Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair_, Ren chanted in his head as he tugged on his boots and wrapped himself in his cloak. He opened the door and was nearly toppled over by the fierce wind that accompanied the bitter winters of the Funbari region. "Bason! I'm leaving for the council meeting!" Ren barked, not bothering to wait for his guardian's response.

_That's odd. The winds and the ice are harsher than usual_—his thoughts were interrupted when a lump of snow hit him squarely in the back of his head. He growled. Only one person in the entire village would do that.

"Hey, Tao Boy! Need help?" Pirika said, sticking out her tongue as her entire body seemed to move effortlessly through the blizzard. Ren tried ignoring the younger of the Usui siblings and counted to ten. _Stupid girl. Just because she grew up in Hokkaido and practically lived in the snow she thinks that she's—_

"Looks like you're having a little trouble there," she teased. "Don't fight the snow," Pirika advised, pointing at his clumsy, heavy footed efforts to plow right through it.

"Just leave me alone, Ainu Girl," he snapped. "Why don't you go and—"

"Watch out!" She darted forward and pulled back on Ren's sleeve before he fell over a rock hidden by the ice. "That was close. Jeez, try to walk with a little more finesse next time," she grumbled.

He stared at her before yanking back his sleeve from her grasp.

"You're welcome! Jerk…"

He turned around to address her but instead was promptly bowled over by Horohoro's huge snow wolf. "_What the_—Kororo, get off me right now!" Kororo showed no sign of getting off of Ren any time soon, choosing instead to lick Ren's face profusely. "This is disgusting! Stop it, you overgrown dog!"

Pirika caught up. "Kororo! What are you doing here?" she asked, showing no concern for Ren's current predicament. "Why aren't you with Horohoro?" The white wolf stopped her slobbery assault on Ren and looked at Pirika in what she could've sworn was a pained expression. Kororo whined and buried herself in the Ainu girl's cloak. "What's the matter?"

"Why are you talking to that thing? It's not like it can even understand you," Ren muttered, scrubbing his face with the rough material of the hem of his shirt. Kororo immediately pulled back and snarled at the temporary village leader. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood today," Pirika huffed. "What's wrong? Big sister pack you the wrong lunch?"

Ren smirked. He had Pirika exactly where he wanted her. "Miss Usui, I'd expect you to show some _respect_ to your new village leader." He cleared his throat expectantly.

She squawked loudly, sending Kororo into a frenzy. "_Whaaaaat?!!_" she screeched. "_No!_ This is so not fair! Ugh, I can't believe this. I'm moving to a different village now," she seethed, clenching her fists into Kororo's coat. "How did this happen?!" she demanded.

"Jun and Bailong left today for their two month wedding and honeymoon so _naturally_ Jun transferred all her power to me and…well, you know the rest. So, just for your information, the council meeting we're going to right now is to initiate _me_." He broke into a sadistic grin. _Best to leave out the part on how Jun forgot._

"This is _so _messed up. So you're going to be the Tao leader for _two months_?!" She shook her head sadly. "The village is going to collapse now."

"Hmph. You're just bitter that I'm in the head of council before you."

"Shut up! And yes, we should've been sworn in at the same time. I'm only a year younger than you and Horohoro anyways," Pirika spat out indignantly. She crossed her arms in front of her. "What_ever_. I hope the Oni eats you in your sleep." Pirika paled and slapped her hand over her mouth. "I mean, uh, I shouldn't have said that." Ren looked at her. "Sorry…" she muttered almost incomprehensibly. The two were silent for the rest of the walk to the council hall, save for a few barks from Kororo at random strangers.

The door slammed open. "Jeez, way to take your sweet time, guys!" Joco growled. He grabbed both of their arms and yanked them inside. "Hurry up, the elders have a really important announcement. They've been flipping out ever since Goldva came back from the sanctum," he said, referring to the sacred room where the village elders did all of their work. Mic mewled and trotted over to Kororo, much to the large wolf's delight. He pushed both of them towards their seats.

"Er, hey everyone…attention? Please? Listen up." Horohoro called the meeting into session. "First off, since Jun is going to the Temple over in Revoir for her wedding, Ren'll be her temporary replacement for the next couple o' months." He paused to give the rest of the villagers some time to soak in the information. "But onto some more pressing news." Ren quirked an eyebrow. He had not been informed of this.

"We need to start making some plans on how to deal with the Oh-Oni sacrifice. The elders have been working on the calculations for the past few months and came up with this: the Oh-Oni will awaken in five years." The rest of the village people gaped and chatter began to swarm up.

"Please, quiet for a moment. As you all know, every five hundred years, the Oh-Oni in the castle on top of Funbari Hill wakes up and will lay waste to our village and the surrounding area and the only way to appease Oh-Oni is to offer a maiden sacrifice. So we need a way to work around this sacrifice but at the same time, keeping the village safe."

Murmurs started. This was the first time a leader had ever suggested something so contrary to the Book. Peyote glared at Horohoro. "_Avoid_ the sacrifice? Are you crazy? You're putting the entire village at stake."

"And who exactly are we going to use for it, Peyote? We don't exactly have any maiden sacrifices that fit the description in the Great Spirit's Book."

"The elders and I have already told you numerous times to use your sister. It makes sense. She's of one of the chief's clans and since she won't be leader anytime soon, she can serve the village by sacrificing herself."

"Absolutely _not_. She—"

Pirika was seething. "I'm right _here_ you know. You could try asking _me_ for my opinion!"

"Fine, Miss Prissy. Will you give yourself up to save everyone else? Or will you be selfish like your brother?"

"And what makes you think I won't be initiated before Oh-Oni wakes up? Huh? What's your brilliant plan after that? You know that the Book prohibits leaders from sacrificing themselves!"

"Are you going to let hundreds of people die just because of a single phrase in the Book? You know you can't take everything in there literally, you stupid –"

Horohoro slammed his hands on the table. "Alright you two, that's enough. Instead of fighting we need to _work together_ to come up with a better solution. If Oh-Oni isn't appeased, then there will be already a lot of senseless killings. We don't need another unnecessary death to add to that count," he said pointedly, looking deliberately at Peyote. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Yoh of the extremely wealthy and influential Asakura family (not to mention Horohoro's best friend), stepped forward. Horohoro breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone with enough sense to actually come up with a solution.

"Does the Book define a maiden as strictly being female?"

The villagers all stared at him. The Ainu leader gaped, unwilling to believe he just asked that. "Wh-What?" _Maybe I misheard. _ "What kind of weird question is that?" Horohoro said, his spirits dropping as his hopes of Yoh contributing something insightful slipped away. _Seriously, Yoh…_ Ren shook his head.

"Well, does it?" the Asakura heir asked simply.

He cleared his throat. _I can't believe I'm doing this_. "Erm, let me—let's…Silva, can you come here…wait, let me see that. What page? This passage…hmm…a maiden. The clause doesn't—yeah I guess. But—that's so weird. Why does it define the sacrifice as a maiden? I suppose there could've been some differences in language and terms back from when the ancestors wrote the Book. Yeah…syntax and linguistic discrepancies and such…But…So… Then—"

"Will you just tell us already instead of mumbling to yourself?" Pirika snapped impatiently, still irked over her little exchange with Peyote.

Horohoro furrowed his brows and looked up. "Technically…no. A maiden is just someone who is pure in spirit…" He quickly looked back down at the Book. "Or something. Why do you even want to know, Yoh?"

He smiled. "Just wondering."

The Ainu leader stared at his friend for a minute before shaking his head. "A-Anyways, let's just move on. Does anyone have any concerns?"

Thankfully, the villagers took the bait and he was able to sort out some less stressful issues like farming plot divisions, rationing of crops, prayer ritual reform, Goldva rushing in looking like the world was about to end—_Wait a second_.

"Horohoro, we just received news from the elders working the sanctum." The village's leading elder motioned for Horohoro to join him in the back room.

"What is it, Goldva?" _This can't be good, this can't be good, this can't be good, why me?_ He hung his head in self-pity for a second before bracing himself for whatever Goldva was about to tell him. "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as what happened during the meeting."

"Ouch, stop shoving, you stupid pointy-headed jerk!" Pirika snapped in a low voice as she attempted to eavesdrop on what her older brother and Goldva were so worried about.

"Quiet down. I should be the one listening in, since last time I checked, _I'm_ the leader, not you."

"Well, leader, shouldn't you be in there, talking to Goldva?" she fired back while resigning herself to tiptoeing above Ren's crouched figure. "Anyways, can you hear what they're talking about?" She strained her ears to listen. "I can't make out what they're saying."

"Maybe if you kept your mouth shut—" Pirika's knuckle met the top of Ren's head. "Urgh…point taken."

"Please tell me you're not serious. This cannot be happening," Horohoro inhaled sharply and put a hand to his forehead. "I'm getting light headed."

Goldva reached forward to steady the swooning boy. "I'm afraid it's true. The interpreters were incorrect in translating a word and they meant five _days_, not _years_."

"And all of _you_ expect me to do something about it? What am I going to tell the villagers? There's going to be riots and panicking and what about the preparations and the defense and protection of the village. Jun and Bailong took half of the soldiers with them….Oh, _Great Spirit_, what about the _sacrifice_?" Horohoro started hyperventilating. "You saw how restless they were when I told them Oh-Oni was going to be waking up in five years. How are they going to react when I say 'Oh wait, just kidding guys, we meant Oh-Oni, the most feared and powerful demon in the country is waking up in five _days_?'"

The short Patch man looked up at Horohoro gravely. "We're just as worried as you are, believe me. My apologies for springing this on you so suddenly but the interpreters just caught their mistake mere _moments_ ago. And you won't be facing this by yourself. Don't forget you have—"

A scuffle just around the corner from where Horohoro and Goldva were standing broke out.

"That's my arm!"

"Well you deserved it for punching me in the head!"

"But you wouldn't shut up, what was I supposed to do?"

"So that makes it okay?! Why you little—!"

"Argh, stop, not my hair, please!"

Pirika and Ren collapsed on the floor right in front of the two most highly esteemed figures in the entire village. "Um." Pirika jumped up and smoothed her clothes out. "This…isn't…what…it looks like…?" She bowed deeply. "We weren't eavesdropping, I swear!" _There goes my chances of leadership…Goldva probably thinks I'm a freak now_. "It's all his fault!" She shot a dirty glare at Ren.

He scrambled up. "Excuse me?! She's the one who suggested it!" He turned his nose up at her while she stuck her tongue out at him. "Er, Mr. Goldva, sir." He coughed and fell into silence.

The Patch elder sighed. "Don't forget you have those two." He shook his head and walked away.

Horohoro rested his head against the wall. "What. Do. You. Two. Want." He emphasized each word with a pointed _thump_ of his forehead against the hard wood of the hallways walls. He immediately regretted asking as soon as they both opened their mouths.

"I can't believe you didn't call me in here when—"

"You weren't ever going to tell me were you—"

"So much for being co-leaders—"

"I'm your sister! You told him you would use me as a sacrifice, didn't you—"

"It wouldn't hurt you to ask for help once in a while—"

"Just because _I _haven't been initiated yet doesn't mean—"

"If only Jun were here—"

Horohoro's eyes flew open. "Yes, if only _Jun_ were here! She would know what to do. But no, not the stupid, boneheaded Horohoro! He's _definitely_ going to mess up the village with his incompetence, right? If only Jun were here, then she'd be able to handle this, then she'd be the one to take all the blame because if she were here then I'd just be her sidekick, right?"

The two stopped their clamoring. Pirika looked sadly at her brother. "Horohoro…we didn't mean—"

He closed his eyes and exhaled. "I know, I know…it's just…I know that the rest of the village talks like that behind my back. I'm the passive leader and I'm just some kinda assistant to Jun who always takes charge in situations like…this." Ren nodded in agreement and Pirika smacked him in the back of the head. "But the sad part is even if she did the exact same thing I would end up doing right now, then people would be more forgiving, y'know?"

The three of them stood there, Horohoro with his fist clenched against the wood of the walls, Pirika toeing the floor, Ren staring outside the window.

"So…what are we going to do?"

Horohoro looked up. "I don't know. You tell me."

"Well, standing around here isn't going to help. Let's go discuss this with the elders." Ren jerked his head towards the doorway.

"H-Hey guys, what about me!" Pirika began to follow them.

"You're just going to get in the way, Ainu girl," Ren said with a _Duh_ expression written all over his face. He rolled his eyes. "It's not like you'll be able to contribute anything useful anyways."

Pirika's mouth opened and closed in anger. She looked at her older brother. "Horohoro!" He merely shrugged.

"Come on, Ren." They both exited, leaving behind a very frustrated Pirika.

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**A/N:** I loved writing this. Please tell me what you think!


	2. Song as old as rhyme

**II. Song as old as rhyme**

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"I can't _believe_ those two!" She stomped her foot. "I _so_ have useful things to contribute." She crossed and uncrossed her arms. "Those jerkfaces! I'll show them, I'll come up with such a good solution that both Horohoro and Ren'll be kicking themselves in the head because they didn't come up with it." She relaxed a bit. "And then Goldva and the elders will be impressed." She brightened up. "And then when Jun comes back the entire village will tell her how I took charge and saved everyone." She smiled. "And then I'll become the leader." She placed both her hands on her hips.

And then her face fell. "Okay, that might be taking it a little too far. But I sure as hell can come up with a good idea. Hmmm, what can I do, what can I do…" Pirika paced up and down the hallways, running her hand against the ancient paintings on the walls. "I can't think of—" She stopped suddenly and looked at the painting on which her hand had rested on. "Oh…!"

_The Fable of Anna and Oh-Oni_. "I remember this from when dad showed us all the different myths and stuff they painted here before." She stared long and hard at the crude depiction of a blond haired girl that stood outside the open door of Funbari castle, looking up defiantly at Oh-Oni who loomed over her. "I don't remember how this one went though…"

"You don't remember _Anna and Oh-Oni_, Miss Usui?" She jumped. "That story used to be your favorite."

"Kalim! You scared me." He smiled at her. "Why aren't you with the other elders in the sanctum?"

"I was just running an errand for Silva. I'm on my way back now." He waved his hand dismissively. "But you seriously don't remember it? It's one of the oldest in the village."

She looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Er, just a couple of details might have slipped my mind…"

He sat down on the floor facing the painting and patted the space next to him. "Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, perhaps even thousands of years ago, before this village was even here, there were a few families living at the base of the Hill. Anna belonged to one of them. She belonged to a very notable clan and she was respected and beloved by everyone. Back then, there were no leaders or elders. Rather, clairvoyants ruled the land. One shaman, envious of Anna's budding power and potential, overheard that a demon was born in the castle."

"Oh-Oni…" Pirika nodded her head.

"Exactly. In his jealousy, he told the surrounding villages and the families near the Hill that the only way to prevent this demon from ever coming down and destroying the land was if Anna went up to the castle and sacrificed herself. Everyone began pressuring her to do it. 'Don't be selfish! Think of the common good!' they exclaimed. However Anna and the shaman both knew full well that the clairvoyants could have stopped the newborn demon without any sacrifices. But Anna, not wanting to expose the people to the shaman's selfish reason, decided to travel up to the castle and confront Oh-Oni by herself. Because of Anna's sacrifice, villages and towns were able to flourish by the Hill without fear of being attacked by Oh-Oni. That is why she is known as the mother of Onsen Village. However, every five hundred years, Oh-Oni rouses from his slumber to ravage the surrounding land and—"

"The only way to stop that from happening is through a maiden sacrifice," Pirika said slowly. "Just like what Anna did. But Kalim," she said, stopping the elder from standing up. "What I don't get is why she didn't want everyone to find out why the shaman singled her out. If they knew why, then she could've been saved."

"She could've even ran away and escaped her death sentence if you think about it, Miss Usui." She blinked. "There are many theories as to why Anna chose to do what she did. Some people say that Anna and the shaman were lovers. And if the villagers and townspeople ever found out that the shaman lied, they would have deposed him and killed him."

"So she did it to protect him…hmm." Pirika looked at the long, brown haired shaman that was plotting in the shadows of the picture, grinning sadistically to himself. _That doesn't seem very plausible to me…_

"Others say that she was simply too scared and weak to refuse…which is why there are a lot of misogynistic passages in the Book against women."

Pirika leaned her head back against the wall. "Which one do you believe?"

"Which one do I believe…" Kalim paused to mull it over. "Back then, the clairvoyants and shamans were thought of as…veritable deities. Gods and goddesses in their own right. I like to think that Anna cared about the people so much that she didn't want them to find out that the shamans were capable of such low motivations like greed and envy…human motivations. She didn't want them to find out that the authority figures that they essentially _worshipped_ were actually just weak humans much like themselves. Imagine the chaos and revolts and uprisings that would have occurred."

"I…see."

"Was that a good history lesson for you, Miss Usui?" He grinned playfully at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, so I haven't really been keeping up to date with my studies. Har, har, very funny." He laughed. "Oh, Kalim?"

"Hmm?" The elder stood up and collected the various tomes and scrolls he had been carrying.

"Er, what exactly does it mean by sacrifice? Like…what exactly happened to Anna when she went up to the castle?" She looked away quickly to avert suspicion.

"She just went up there, knocked on the door, and probably got eaten or something equally as pleasant." He shrugged his shoulders as she paled. "The storyteller intended on focusing on Anna's sacrifice so he left out other details like that I suppose. Why do you—"

"No reason! Thanks, Kalim!" The village elder studied her long and hard before leaving. "Phew, that was close." She stood up and walked outside. "At least I know my solution!"

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Elsewhere, Yoh sighed. "Pirika…"

Mikihisa looked up from the text he was studying. "You felt it too?"

"Yup. She's jumping the gun a little." He scratched the back of his head.

Yohmei closed his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "But we already knew that." Kino nodded.

"At least it's time for my part." Yoh pulled on his boots and put his hand to the door handle. "Amidamaru!" The Asakura family guardian appeared. "Come on, it's time."

Kino cackled. "It has begun, alright."

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Kororo knew something was up. She might not be able to talk or walk or open doors (thanks to her lack of opposable thumbs) or communicate her thoughts in a way that didn't involve licking, biting, or growling, but she knew that something was definitely, completely, totally up with Pirika. Which is why she started barking.

"Kororo, shhhhhhhh!" Pirika rushed over and clamped the wolf's mouth shut. Kororo shook herself free from the girl's grasp and began her barking again. "You're going to wake everyone up!" she hissed and wrapped Kororo's muzzle with a scrap of cloth nearby, tying it securely. "There! Now do you understand?" The wolf whined in response and pawed at her bindings.

Pirika wagged her finger at her. "Listen now. I'm going away…for a long time probably…a-and I don't want you following me, you hear? And don't miss me too much, okay? Just keep headbutting Horohoro when he doesn't give you your favorite meat they way you like it and…and—" Pirika gathered up the wolf in her arms and sniffed loudly. "Bye, Kororo." She slipped outside and quickly shut the door to prevent her loyal companion of seventeen years from following her.

She exhaled, her breath visibly curling up into the wintery night sky. _Okay, Pirika, you can do this. Just go up there and you can do it_. She started up the barely discernible pathway that led up to the summit of Funbari Hill. "I'll show them."

"Wow this is tiring…even for me," she panted, launching herself onto a visible rock. "Good thing I've climbed much harder mountains back in Hokkaido." She thought of how her brother would fare in her situation. _Pshh, he wouldn't be able to handle it. I got to grow up in the north while he was spoiled down here._ Thanks to her extreme upbringing, she nimbly scaled the hill in record time.

_Even if I don't make it back alive, I'll show them. Without me, they'd be hopeless._ _And what are the chances that I won't make it out—_ Pirika stopped dead in her tracks as she came into view of the castle. "Oh, Great Spirit…" she whispered as the huge stone walls towered over her. She'd never realized how big it would actually be. "Wh-what have I gotten myself into." _It's not too late to turn—_ "Crap." The rocks and snow of the gently inclining ridge she had used to get up fell away. "Crap, crap, crap, how am I going to get down now? I can't go back anymore." She turned around, breathed deeply and proceeded towards the great wooden door of the castle.

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Back in the village, chaos erupted once Pirika was discovered missing.

"How did I not hear her leave last night?" Horohoro moaned.

"Maybe because you're the heaviest sleeper in the world?" Ren posited. He was met with a groan.

"Ren," Horohoro said, face down in the snow. "Please call together a search team. I don't think I can handle any more stress."

The Tao boy rolled his eyes. "Get up. Stop being a huge baby."

Said huge baby looked up and shook the snow off of his face. "Urgh. No. I think my brain has imploded." He slumped back into the slush.

Ren sighed. "Asakura! Assemble a search party for Pirika. Get about six of the light foot soldiers and fan out around the area. You and I will look north."

"Ren, just let me look for her by myself."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how long that will take? Knowing her, she probably would've fell into a lake and drowned herself before we even found her."

Yoh shrugged. "You know Amidamaru and I are the second fastest in the village. Joco and Mic are out right now on errands for the elders. Not to mention, the other search members would just slow us down."

Ren was about to protest but gave up after seeing Hao's gang just idling around. "Hey, you! Get to work." He turned back to Yoh. "You have twenty four hours," he growled at the smiling boy before marching over to the group of delinquents.

"That's more than enough time. Let's go, Amidamaru." The two quickly entered the Usui household.

"Master Yoh!"

He jumped over the stairs banister and sprinted up the steps two at a time. "Did you find her, Amidamaru?" He opened the door to Pirika's bedroom.

Instead of finding the blue haired girl caught in the act of planning something drastic, he was greeted by the sight of a pitiful looking Kororo and a perplexed Amidamaru. "Er…not exactly. Strange, because Kino's vision said she'd be here."

Yoh closed his eyes and quickly recollected what his grandmother had told him the night before. _Okay, she said that Pirika would probably be hiding somewhere in the room. Horohoro would get freaked out and alarm the entire village. All the villagers would be too busy looking for her and she'd easily slip out of her house unnoticed since no one would be checking there._ "Hmmm. Kino's predictions are never wrong though…where could she—"

The wolf came forward and nudged both of them towards the window.

"What is it?" Yoh tapped at the window frame. "It's open?" He looked at the hill from the view from Pirika's room. He turned around and sighed. "She's not here. Where could she—" He caught a blur of movement from the corner of his eye. "Wait. That can't be—"

With that, the two rushed from the house to pursue the girl who was already halfway to the castle. As they arrived to the trail, they both hesitantly studied the warning signs every villager was trained to do since before they could walk. A hard shell of ice instead of powdery snow on the ground? Check. Winds too fast that it's hard to even walk? Double check. Storm clouds gathering? Check to the millionth power. Ice shards flying from every direction? Definitely. All the signs were there to indicate a blizzard of the worst kind. The kind Yoh liked to refer to as the _You'd have to be suicidal, crazy or both to even think of sticking your foot out the door in this kind of weather, you dummy_ storm. "What are we getting ourselves into?" the boy sighed to himself, his voice completely silenced by the howling winds.

"Are we still on her tracks?" Yoh lifted up his arm to shield his face from the winds. "I can't even tell anymore. There's too much snowfall covering the trail. I think we've passed the same tree like twenty times."

"No, I believe that we're…" Amidamaru spotted a ledge and hoisted himself up onto it. "Master Yoh, I think that we are near the summit." He reached down to offer his hand to Yoh and pulled him up. "The snow isn't as heavy here so we should be able to find the trail to the castle easier."

Amidamaru leapt straight up with his master on his back. _How did that girl manage to get up here?_ he wondered, observing no possible ledges or footholds that Pirika could have used.

"Is that it?" Yoh craned his head back to take in the sight of the castle. He and Amidamaru must have been one of the first villagers to have set eyes on it for centuries. "It's incredible!"

"Stay here, there are intruders on the grounds…please."

Pirika nodded dumbly since her vocal chords refused to function. She obediently complied, not daring to move even a millimeter from her current position.

"Er…hello there?" Yoh was jolted out of his stupor as he realized that someone (or something) was watching him.

"You are trespassing."

"We're aware. Amidamaru, put your sword away, it's fine." Yoh stepped forward. "We're here to…" He paused as he realized that he hadn't even considered what he was going to say. "There's a girl that—"

"Yes. She's in the castle."

"Well, we're here to retrieve her." Yoh straightened up.

"Oh-Oni will not be pleased at all."

He scratched the back of his head. _Yeesh, how do I get out of this_. _Man, I better stick to Kino's vision_. "I was wondering if I could…perhaps…in exchange for her release…if I could take her place as the maiden sacrifice—"

"Master Yoh! What are you doing?"

Yoh held up a hand to silence his family's guardian. "Relax. I'll be fine." _I hope_.

"I-I…don't…know if that's…that's never been done before… Let me go and consult…"

The door slammed shut, leaving the guardian and his master out in the snow. "Master Yoh, as your family's protector I cannot allow you to do this!" His brow furrowed as he clenched his teeth. "And as your _friend_ I will not allow you to do this."

Yoh closed his eyes. "Amidamaru, I know this is hard. I mean, I don't even want to do this. And there's no guarantee that I'm gonna make it back to the village alive. Actually, chances are, I won't."

The samurai looked at him skeptically. "You're not exactly helping your case here."

"Erm, what I mean is, I have to do it. It's in the vision." _Not exactly…All that was in this part of the vision was Pirika returning safely. Kino never said how. But I _have _to help Pirika._

The guardian's frustrated expression softened a bit. "It was? Then…then it's probably for the best. But, if you need any help, I'm coming straight back here, understand?"

Yoh laughed. "Of course."

The heavy wood of the huge door creaked open. "Oh-Oni said that it's fine…" The door was pushed open further. "Please follow me."

Yoh shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You bring Pirika…I mean…the girl out here first."

Pirika was pushed outside. "Y-Yoh! What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Happy?"

He nodded. "Amidamaru, take Pirika back to the village." The guardian placed his hand on his master's shoulder before heaving the girl onto his back and swiftly leaping down the disfigured ledge. "_Now_ I'll follow you." He walked inside the castle, looking behind him and soaking in the last few glimpses of freedom, and perhaps even life, before he signed his soul away to whatever demon resided within those stone walls. And then there was only darkness.

"Pirika! Where in the _hell_ were you?" Horohoro leapt up from his misery/depression heap on the ground. "I organized a search team—"

Ren cleared his throat. "_I _organized a search team. The entire village is in pandemonium. You'd better have an explanation."

Pirika gaped a few times before her pale complexion returned back to a healthier state. "He…he…helped me."

"_Who?_" the two village leaders inquired simultaneously.

Pirika shook her head. "I n-need to lie down."

"Hey! You have to explain first!" Ren shouted as she walked away. "Grrr…stupid girl…doesn't she know the fate of this village could depend on what happened to her?"

Horohoro furrowed his brows. "Let her rest. Then we can take her to the elders."

"I-I-It's you." Yoh stared. "It…can't be. How is this possible?"

The demon sighed. "_Obviously_ it's me. Why else do they call it Oh-Oni's castle? Probably because Oh-Oni _doesn't_ live here, right?"

"No…I mean…it's you. You're Anna."

The demon blinked in surprise. "H-How—"

"Anna Kyoyama. This makes no sense at all."

"But yet explains so much, doesn't it." She studied his face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Hmm?"

"I would expect more spluttering or fear at least," she said sounding slightly offended.

Yoh smiled. "That isn't quite my style." He looked up at the eighteen year old girl with blond hair, dark eyes, and a solemn mouth. "You haven't aged a day…" he said softly.

She looked at him with the vulnerability of a young girl and the experience of the world. "Oh yes, a thousand year old trapped in an eighteen year old's body."

"You've been here all this time since you first sacrificed yourself."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"Um…the first."

"I would say no to that. However, I _have_ been here ever since I came up to this godforsaken castle."

Yoh was semi-shaken out of his stupor as he cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

She smiled cynically. "'_Sacrificed_'? You village people are too much."

He furrowed his brows. "What are you…"

"I never _sacrificed_ myself," Anna/Oh-Oni/whatever she was scoffed.

"But the legend…and the elders…and you're the _mother_ of the village."

"The mother?" She laughed bitterly. "I would have been the destroyer of that village. And possibly of the world."

Yoh blinked. "But—"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Anna snapped.

"I wasn't going to—"

"I already know what you're going to ask. _But the elders have been _lying_ to us?_" she sneered.

"I was going to ask why you looked so surprised that I said your name." He looked up at her sincerely.

She stood there, completely caught off guard with the innocent question, her mouth slightly open. "It's been a long time…a very, very long time…since I've heard someone call me by my real name," she said slowly. "Even the servants don't address me as Anna." She stood there facing him for a minute. "In fact, I think the last time someone has called me that was before I came into this castle. A thousand years ago."

Yoh looked at her slightly sadly. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll just call you Oh-Oni if you want." Anna didn't answer, choosing instead to stare at the snowfall outside the window.

"How did you even know it was me? The painting, I'm guessing, wasn't the best." She regarded him doubtfully, her head held high.

He shrugged. "I kinda just knew. I felt it in my gut I suppose. And the elders kept repeating that Anna was beautiful…and they were right." He grinned at her as her eyes widened and she turned around to hide her embarrassment. The two were silent for a few moments. "Er…so what am I supposed to do now? As the maiden sacrifice I mean. Are you going to eat me?"

She pulled a repulsed face. "Why…would I ever…eat you. That is disgusting."

Yoh breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just that that's what we were told in the legend. That Oh-Oni eats people." Anna closed her eyes and grumbled something. "Well, if I'm not needed here, can I go back to the village?" He placed both of his hands on the arms of the chair to push himself up. "I have to attend to Pirika."

Something inside of Anna flared up and her entire body began shaking. "That air headed girl who was here earlier? Why, is she your girlfriend? Are going back so you two can get married? No, you will stay here with me in this castle until further notice. Besides, you made a trade and if the maiden sacrifice leaves, then there is nothing stopping me from destroying that pathetic little village," she snarled in a jealous rage, barely even sounding or resembling a human as her eyes flashed dangerously and her voice sounded otherworldly. Yoh merely stared at her unfeelingly as he gauged the situation.

Anna began to pale and her body began swaying back and forth as she calmed herself down. "I-I-" _I'm sorry_. "I need to rest." Yoh reached forward to help her. "_Don't. Touch. Me._" she spat out. "Redseb." Her eyes reverted back to their normal state as she regained awareness of her surroundings. "Redseb! Seyram!"

A boy around ten years of age, clearly frightened, appeared. "Y-Yes, Miss Oh-Oni?" He moved aside for a girl who appeared slightly younger than him.

"Redseb. Show the sacrifice to his room. Seyram, help me back to my quarters. And bring the beads." Although the little girl showed no change in expression, Redseb's eyebrows flew up in surprise.

"Hey, Mister. Follow me, please." Redseb tugged on Yoh's sleeve as he led the older boy through a maze of hallways. "What's your name, Mister?"

"I'm Yoh. And you're Redseb?"

"Yup, and Seyram's my sister. I was ten and she was eight before we were sent up here with Miss Oh-Oni about a…a…" The little boy's forehead crinkled as he tried to remember. "A thousand years ago or somethin'." He tugged on the handle of a door.

"Sent up here?" _They weren't mentioned in the legend either._

Redseb nodded profusely and smiled. "Yeah! Don'tcha know? Miss Oh-Oni and Seyram and me and—" He slapped his hands over his mouth as if he let out some big secret. "Uh-oh, I'm not supposed to say anything to ya until Miss Oh-Oni does." His eyes shined with fear as his lower lip began to tremble. "Don't say anything to her, please?"

He smiled. "I won't."

Redseb looked at him skeptically. "You _promise_?" He jutted out his pinky at Yoh.

Yoh looked down at him. "Yes, Redseb, I promise I won't say anything."

He shook his head. "No, no, ya gotta _pinky _promise." He repeatedly prodded Yoh in the stomach with his little finger.

"Okay, I _pinky_ promise that I won't say anything to her." He hooked fingers with the younger boy. "How do you know I won't break that promise, Redseb?"

"Because pinky promises are like…holy, Mister! And if you break your promise, I get to cut off your finger." He began laughing like a tiny little maniac as he skipped happily into Yoh's new room. "This is where you're gonna sleep!" He launched himself onto the bed and began jumping up and down. "See, it's real bouncy!"

Yoh shrugged off his cloak and placed it on the wooden chair. The room was bare yet it had everything that would make him comfortable. A simple desk, a chair, a bed, a window, and a fireplace.

Redseb yanked open a desk drawer. "Here are some candles for when it gets dark and-and-and—" He pulled Yoh towards the door and opened it slightly, peeking outside. "See that room across from here?" he whispered. Yoh nodded. "That's the _bathroom_. It has everything you need!"

"Why are you whispering?"

Redseb giggled. "I dunno. I'm just real happy you're here, Mister!" He put both of his hands behind his head. "I've been bored for a real long time and you're gonna make things interesting." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "And maybe…make her happy too…get out of here," he mumbled so that Yoh could only hear snippets of what he was saying.

"What did you say?" _There's a way for Seyram and Redseb and Anna to be freed?_

"Er, nothing! That's it, I hope you liked your room!" He was about to sprint out of the room before Yoh caught him.

"Hold on. Come back here." The little boy complied and sat on the chair. "I kind of assumed this but why can't you, Seyram and Oh-Oni leave the castle?"

Redseb swung his legs back and forth rapidly. "Well, me and my sister can't leave 'cause of the spell that dumb shaman put on us before we were sent up here. So we can't really leave the grounds of the castle. If we try, it's like runnin' into a wall." He leaned forward and squinted at Yoh. "Ya know, you kinda look like him. Just a little, tiny bit. I don't really remember how he looked like. Too long ago." He crossed his arms and slumped back into the chair.

"What about Oh-Oni?"

Redseb clamped his eyes shut and shook his head. "You hafta ask her about it! Ask her about…" He lowered his voice. "The 1080 beads."

_1080 beads. Got it._ "And who was that other servant that talked to me outside the castle?"

"Oh-Oni's personal servant who she talks to about her problems and stuff. That's all I can tell you, Mister." He hopped off his chair. "Dinner'll be in a coupla hours, kay?" He raced outside and was gone.

* * *

**A/N: **alternate chapter name: the chapter in which THINGS ACTUALLY START TO HAPPEN!!!! from now on you can expect updates for this story every saturday or sunday. next chapter is shaping up to be rather interesting (if I do say so myself.) I would love to hear your feedback =) oh if you have enjoyed this so far in any way, shape, or form, please, please, PLEASE consider reading my other fic _Unwritten _which you can access on my profile page. it's a light, easy, funny read with the same pairings and the fic is basically my baby =)


	3. Bittersweet and strange

**III. Bittersweet and strange**

* * *

"You can't just abandon the village, Horohoro! What about your responsibility as a leader?" Ren followed the determined Ainu boy outside.

"What about my responsibility as a _friend_, Ren?" He whipped his coat on, smacking the Tao boy in the face. "Yoh's my best friend. I can't just stand around here and let him get eaten by some ugly demon." He turned around and placed both of his hands on Ren's shoulders. "I gotta help him. I'm going up there and you can't stop me." He marched off.

"This village will be leaderless without you!" Ren called after him.

"Nope, this village has another leader. And a damn good one too." Horohoro pointed at him. "And, just for kicks, I wanna see how this works out." He grabbed Pirika who had just come outside. "Ren, be our witness."

"Wha—"

"As Onsen's village leader, I hereby grant you temporary leadership in my absence. All your authority is to be revoked as soon as I return," he said in a sing-song voice, grinning like a maniac at his sister.

Pirika's face lit up and she jumped forward to hug him. "Horohoro! You're the best."

The blue haired boy turned towards Ren. "Witness?"

Ren's eyes bulged out. "_Absolutely not._"

"_Witness_." Horohoro and Pirika glared menacingly at him.

Ren mumbled out his oath and stormed away. "I'll be going back and forth between the castle and the village a lot, so I need you to watch over Onsen for me, okay?" Pirika nodded. "And I need you to _work with_ Ren."

"I can handle it by myself—"

"_Work with Ren_." Pirika nodded silently as Horohoro backed away slowly to make sure she wouldn't go crazy-ninja-killer on Ren once he turned his back on the two of them. "I'm off."

* * *

"Seyram, what happened to me? I almost lost control. And because of a human boy?" Anna closed her eyes as she lay on her bed. Seyram handed her the necklace she had been clutching. "1080 beads." Anna stared at them, almost every single one of the beads was a dull, tarnished black color. Only one remained that still glowed with a pearly light.

_For every year that passes, one of these beads will cease to glow. If you do not learn how to love and be loved by the time all of these beads go out, then you will be trapped in this castle for all of eternity and you will stay in your Oh-Oni form forever._

Anna gripped the necklace in her hands until the black stones dug into the soft skin of her palms. "1080 beads," she repeated. "1079 years have passed. Seyram, this is the last year that I can break the spell." The little girl looked at her sadly.

In reality, however, Anna had long grown callous and insensitive to the three servants in the castle so she really had two other chances of forming any kind of relationship that involved love: the previous two times Onsen Village had sent sacrifices. The villagers had gotten jumpy and sent their first maiden sacrifice, a girl named Kanna, before even a hundred years had passed. An uppity, arrogant little thing that had disrespected everyone in the castle. Anna had thought she had done a very good job by tolerating Kanna's existence for ten years before throwing her off of the cliff. _Happily throwing her off of the cliff_, Anna thought sadistically. The second sacrifice sent up to the castle five hundred years later was a stick of a girl named Mari, the total antithesis of Kanna. She was quiet, refused to talk, and stayed in her room the entire time, eventually dying alone of old age.

"Oh-Oni, there are intruders on the grounds again."

Anna nodded without even bothering to open her eyes. "Go. Set the wolves on them if you have to." She heard the door slam shut. "Seyram, I will break this spell." The little girl nodded.

* * *

Horohoro reached forward to knock again but immediately recoiled as soon as the door opened.

"You are trespassing."

"Um…yeah. About that…" A girl around his age who was standing in the door frame refused to meet his eyes, opting to keep her gaze glued to the ground. "Hello?" He waved his hands in front of her. "I'm up here."

"Please leave." Her empty eyes didn't move.

"I can't exactly do that. You see, my friend, he came up here a little while ago and—Hey!" He stuck his foot in the door before it slammed shut. "I was still talking."

"Please leave," she repeated. "Or I will set the wolves on you."

Horohoro snickered. "Like you have wolves here—Aaaaaaah!" He screamed as a pair of snarling, rabid wolves chased after him down the hill.

The girl sighed and returned inside. "Hey! I'm still not done with you yet!" Horohoro panted as he jogged back to the castle entrance.

The girl's eyes flicked up for a second causing Horohoro to stop breathing. "You—you look like—" _She looked exactly like Damuko when she did that. I mean, they might have different hairstyles and heights and stuff but she looked like her…_ "What's your name?" She was silent. "What is your name?" Horohoro repeated slowly. Still no response. "If you're not going to answer, I'm just going to call you Damuko, okay?" Silence. "Okay, Damuko, I have a favor to ask of you—"

"How did you get rid of the wolves?" she asked expressionlessly.

"Er, what? Oh, well I had some meat in my pocket…I'm not weird. I have a snow wolf back at home and I had leftovers I guess. Her name's Kororo. My snow wolf I mean. She runs way faster than those fat dogs you sent after me so I had no problem outrunning—" The door slammed shut in his face. "Seriously? Again?! Well you know what, Damuko, I'm going to come back here every single day until you look me in the eyes!" he yelled. "Uh, and when you give Yoh back! Yeah! That's what I meant! Why am I still yelling! I'll stop yelling now! So I'll see you tomorrow because I'm coming back every day like I said earlier! Okay, I'm stopping for real now." He looked around before stuffing his hands in his pocket and shuffling back down the hill.

The girl leaned her back against the door and slowly sat down. _Okay, breathe. That wasn't so bad. I'm sure Oh-Oni didn't hear._ She crawled over to the window and shyly pulled back the drapes to watch her blue haired confronter walk back to the village. Or rather, trip over his feet, scream like a little girl and tumble down. _He talks too much. But…he's funny…and kind of—no, stop it! _She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw his head pop back up from under the snow. The girl pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. _I hope he comes back every day. _And for the first time in over a thousand years, she allowed herself to smile.

* * *

"I really hope you have a good reason for me getting all these scrolls and things out. It wasn't easy taking them out of the archives," Kalim sighed as he set said scrolls and things on the table in front of Silva.

"Of course, Kalim, when have I ever asked you to do something for me that—"

"That one time when you told me to stand by your illegal booth of 'authentic, handcrafted' Patch jewelry that were actually made out of dime store plastic beads. And then it just so happened that Goldva and the others were doing random checks of the village and I got punished instead of you?" Kalim rattled off mechanically. "Or how about—"

"Okay, okay. But seriously this time, you remember how a couple of weeks ago we were discussing other interpretations of the legends? Since it _is _Oh-Oni season and all, I got to thinking about a recurring…'motif' if you will, that only appeared in 500 year intervals."

Kalim exhaled. "I better sit down for this."

"So you know who had sent Anna to the castle, right?"

Kalim rolled his eyes. _Oh boy, Silva and his conspiracy theories_. "Everyone knows that, Silva…the unnamed shaman."

"Who looks like…" Silva pulled out the one of the two surviving original paintings of the myth. "This." He pointed to the image of a long, brown haired boy, no older than perhaps eighteen.

"_Silva_—"

He held up a finger. "No, no, no, no. I have a point. This time it's not a wild goose chase!"

_We'll see about that_. "Okay, what now?"

"Who tore Lyserg and Jeanne apart?"

"A shaman."

Silva grinned. "Not just any shaman…it's our unnamed shaman!" He unrolled the little-known scroll of _The Iron Maiden_. "Jeanne, put under a spell by a group known as the X-Laws, fell into a hundred year slumber." He tapped the panel that showed a sleeping young girl being placed inside a metal casket. "Then our hero Lyserg comes along who had heard that if the girl is kissed by her true love, then she would wake up." Kalim looked at the picture of a green haired boy scaling a stone wall. "He did so and they were indeed each other's true loves and they were about to get married. However, they were brutally separated. Not by disease, not by their families disapproval but by a war." The next parchment showed two armies beginning to swarm the land, the two young lovers in the middle of it all. "A war started by…"

Kalim's eyebrows raised. "The unnamed shaman." In the background of the war scene stood the same long brown haired young man. "So he appears in two legends. That's hardly anything to gawk over."

"Hold on." Kalim internally groaned. "_The Ballad of Lilirara_." Another scroll was quickly placed on the table. "Who killed her?"

"…A shaman."

"_Who killed her?_"

Kalim looked down at the back of the dark haired figure who was walking away from the slain body of Onsen's finest historian. "…The unnamed shaman."

Silva folded his hands together and looked pointedly at Kalim. "_The Ballad of Lilirara_ took place five hundred years _before_ _Anna and Oh-Oni._ Now I know you're going to say something but my theory, before you ask me about it, is that I cross referenced the records that the Patch elders have kept over the centuries and it turns out that these people in the legends are real. Not the events themselves per se but at least the people in them actually lived!"

Kalim nodded. "Go on."

Silva began talking a bit more excitedly. "So what I'm thinking is that this long haired shaman reappears every five hundred years when something out of the ordinary happens. And from the time frame and the events that are taking place right now, well I'd say that we fit the criteria!"

"So you think…that this unnamed antagonist…is going to show up at any time…and cause some sort of mayhem in the village," Kalim reiterated slowly. "I'm willing to bet my last buffalo that your crazy theory would never, in a thousand years, ever happen."

He grinned. "You're on."

* * *

Seyram poked her head into Yoh's room. "Er, can you tell Oh-Oni that I won't be joining her for dinner this night?" The little girl merely stared at him incredulously before stepping away momentarily. She returned with her big brother in tow.

"What is it, Seyram?" Redseb grumbled. "I haven't started helping with dinner yet." She roughly thrust a finger in Yoh's direction.

"I was just telling your sister that I won't be eating dinner tonight with you guys," he stated simply.

Redseb's eyes bugged out. "You _what_?" He cupped a hand around his ear, unwilling to believe what he just heard.

"I won't be going to dinner tonight?"

"You…you…you…you…" Redseb shut his eyes and clenched his fists. "_You can't just do that!_" he yelled.

Yoh blinked in surprise. "Erm, why not?"

"D-D-D-Do you have…_any_…idea how mad…Miss Oh-Oni will be?" the little boy managed to splutter out.

"I have a lot on my mind and I'm not feeling very hungry…Redseb? _Redseb_. What's wrong?" He reached forward for the young boy's hand as his eyes began brimming with tears.

"You don't understand how angry she'll be. Being with her for…for…a thousand years…it's—she's so…so…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Scary." He sniffed.

Yoh clasped both of Redseb's hands in his own and looked him in the eye. "Don't worry, Redseb. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

He shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about, Mister. I'm scared that you're going to get hurt."

"Don't you spend any time stressing over me." Yoh smiled. "I can take care of myself." He inhaled deeply and sighed. "Truthfully, the reason I don't want to go is that I'm worried about getting too close to Oh-Oni. I'm not sure that I would be able to remain completely impartial for whatever happens in the future if I have such a personal relationship with her."

* * *

Redseb closed his eyes and covered his ears as he waited for the silence which indicated Oh-Oni was back to normal. Or as normal as she could get. It sounded like she was just about done so he tentatively tapped the door open with his foot. He cringed slightly in pain as he found the entire room in total disarray. It looked as if a tornado, hurricane, and earthquake converged in the small room. He picked his way through the splintered furniture and shattered glass, careful to not step on the oil that had splattered from the broken lamps. He called his sister over to help heave a disfigured shelf that had fallen on top of Oh-Oni. "Miss." He prodded the unconscious girl in a vain attempt to wake her up. "Miss!"

Her eyes flew open. "Redseb," she croaked hoarsely. "What happened." She sat up dizzily and the little boy moved aside to let her survey the damage that she had caused. "This is the worst it's ever…" she said shakily, trying to keep her voice even. "What triggered it this time."

"I told you that the sacrifice wouldn't be coming tonight—" He was cut off by a sharp raising of her hand.

"Bring it to me." She snapped her fingers and Seyram disappeared for a moment, returning with a handheld mirror. Anna gazed into it until an image, blurry at first, appeared. She saw Yoh lying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"I can't go tonight. I know that. I can't allow myself to get close to her."

The image faded as she angrily slammed the mirror down onto a table.

"If he doesn't want to eat," she growled softly as she proceeded to the door. "Then let him starve."

* * *

"This is the nineteenth time you've come back." The servant girl poked her head outside.

"It's been more than two weeks! When are you going to let him go?" Horohoro placed his hands behind his head as the two wolves wrestled over the piece of steak he had brought for them.

"Until Oh-Oni says so." She wanted to close the door before he could see her blushing. "Good-bye." She was about to end this brief meeting like she had done with every other.

"Wait!" He lunged forward and caught the door. She stepped back instinctively. This was the closest he had ever come to the castle. "Er, sorry about that…" he apologized as she warily lowered her arm. "If you're going to be like this, won't you at least tell me why you won't look at me? Your eyes look so empty all the time."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said innocently, her eyes firmly trained to the floor.

"Damuko, didn't your parents ever teach you that it's rude to not look at someone when they're talking?"

_Again with that name. _ Her fists clenched slightly. "I never knew my parents. Good-bye, sir." She started pushing the door closed.

"Horohoro."

She blinked. "What?"

"My name. Horohoro," he blurted out.

"Okay. Good-bye, Horohoro."

"I don't know why I said that. It's just…I wish you didn't hate me so much."

"I never said I hated you!" Her face reddened a bit as she realized the enthusiasm with which she responded. She cleared her throat. "I didn't."

"Then why won't you look at me? And as soon as I come up here you slam the door in my face. And you barely even talk to me and I've been visiting you for almost three weeks now."

She turned away. _No. He meant visiting the castle. Not visiting me. Stop being happy!_ she mentally berated herself but her face grew an even deeper shade of pink.

"I don't even know your real name, Da—"

Her eye twitched. "Well, it seems that you already have one for me anyways. Good-bye." And with that, she kicked backwards to slam the door in his face once again.

* * *

"Master Hao, have you heard what the villagers have been talking about?"

"Why, yes I have." The boy looked lazily into the fireplace. "What of it?"

"Don't you think that maybe you can use it…to…to…" Peyote faltered as he looked at Hao.

"To get revenge on the elders for exiling me to the outskirts of the village? And on my family for disowning me and replacing _my_ spot as heir with that brother of mine?" Hao smiled at him. "Of course I've thought about it. I've been waiting all this time to do it. And the circumstances are perfect. Yoh is in the castle with that demon. What better way to kill two birds with one stone. We will destroy them and revolt so that I can claim the Asakura fortune and power as my own."

"Y-You mean _our_ own…right?"

"Sure, Peyote…" Hao stated dryly.

"So what are you going to do, Master?" Peyote's face lit up.

"What am I going to do?" Peyote nodded excitedly. "I am going to do…nothing." His face fell.

"What?" Peyote frowned, extremely disappointed.

"_You_ on the other hand…I will need you to go and gather all of my past supporters back in the village. And then we will quietly rally the other villagers, convince them that the only way to make sure that we're safe is if we kill the demon." He continued staring at the heath. "With fire."

* * *

Yoh looked around the hallway before he stole out of his room. _1080 beads, 1080 beads, where would those be…_

"Obviously, they would be in her room. But this entire castle is not about the obvious. I would try the West Wing of the castle if I were you."

"Oh, thank you," Yoh said gratefully. "Wait—what?" He whirled around to find that no one was there. "Wh-Who said that?"

"Down here." He looked down. "Surprised?" A normal looking orange striped cat stared back up at him. Except the cat was wearing clothes. And was walking upright on two legs. And was smoking a pipe. Besides that, totally normal looking cat.

"You can talk!" Yoh smiled and crouched down to pet it.

The cat swiftly sidestepped Yoh's hand. "Of course I can talk. This castle is hardly ordinary, boy."

"Were you imprisoned here along with the others?" The cat nodded sharply. "I'm Yoh."

"Of the Asakura family, no doubt."

Yoh cocked his head in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"Let's just say that you look an awful lot like your brother." He shook his head and smiled, sticking his paw out. "I am Matamune. I could be what you call Oh-Oni's servant. But I am more of her caretaker. Would like a guide?"

"That would be great." He stood back up and followed Matamune. "So if you were sent here the same time as the others…does that mean you're trapped?"

They turned a corner. "No, I can come and go as I please. I know not why though. Perhaps the shaman didn't know I was in the castle at the time. Or perhaps he took pity on a poor cat like me. Nonetheless, I was granted the power to speak and think as a human."

"Huh." Yoh poked at a suit of armor they passed by. "It sure is creepy in here at night."

"You get used to it…after a hundred years or so. After that, you actually become quite bored with the place." He came to a stop in front of a room. "Here we are."

Yoh entered it. Inside, to his surprise, it was a total mess. Dressers and chairs were overturned and the window was smashed in. The furniture was demolished and the refuse scattered the floor. "What's—" He cut himself off as he saw a replica of the painting of _Anna and Oh-Oni_ leaning against the wall. The entire thing was intact except for a single slash across the girl, her face having been completely scratched off. "Anna…" he breathed as he placed his hand on the top of the only table that was still upright. "Oh!" he lifted his hand up to reveal a simple necklace of fine beads. The only thing that was out of place was one of the beads was glowing.

"Do you see?" Matamune asked somberly as he joined Yoh.

"She's in so much pain…" Yoh said, dejectedly looking over the destroyed room before his eyes settled on the marred painting once again. "So much."

* * *

"Get out of my chair," Ren repeated, glaring at the girl who sat at the head of the council table.

"_Your _chair?" She smiled. "Now that _I'm_ leader as well, it could very well be mine!" She crossed her legs contentedly.

Ren spluttered at the sudden change of fortunes. "I-I-I was leader first!"

Pirika rolled her eyes. "Is that really the best you can come up with? I know you can do better, Pointy-Head."

"Tao, Usui." The two leaders snapped to attention as Goldva walked in. "Now that things _appear_ to have settled down a bit," the elder paused, fully ready for something to smash through the wall and prove him wrong yet again. "You should start making definitive plans since, whether I like it or not," he stared them straight in the eye. "It looks like you two will be here for the long-term during this time of crisis." The young leaders nodded. "May the Great Spirit help Onsen," he muttered as he exited the council's room.

Ren and Pirika stared at each other for an entire minute before they both dove for the official plan book. "IT'S MINE!" After a heated scuffle that resulted in frayed hair, bruised arms, scratched up legs, pulled faces, and wounded dignities, they both collapsed, panting, Ren's hand firmly grasping the top of the book and Pirika's fingers securely clamped on the bottom.

"Pirika, are you—" Kalim stood in the frame as the door swung open. His eyes bugged out and he blanched. "Er, ah, um, am I interrupting…_something_?" By the end of his inquiry, his voice had reached an incredibly high pitch as he shielded his eyes. "I'm sure your siblings will be…_delighted…_to hear of your relationship but ah, please try to do this somewhere more private!" He began shuffling out of the room.

Ren dragged himself up. "What are you talking about—" He cut himself off as he realized that the Patch elder had seen that his and Pirika's clothes were all askew, their hair was more than disheveled, and they were both out of breath, lying down on the floor. "Oh."

Pirika's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "_Oh._"

Kalim peeked out from behind his hands. "Oh?"

"No! It-it-it's not like that!" They both jumped to their feet, surprising Kalim. "We were just fighting over the plan book since…since Goldva…" Ren and Pirika turned to each other, color rising to their cheeks and their eyes twitching as disgust began to fill their faces. "Ugh, no! No! Never!"

The Patch man nodded slowly and doubtfully as he walked backwards out of the room. "Uh…huh…well whatever you two say…" He smiled as he closed the door. "Ah, young love."

Pirika hurled the plan book at the door. "We can still hear you!" They looked at the fallen prize on the ground. Looked at each other. Looked back at the sad pile of bound papers on the floor. And pounced. "THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!"

Pirika was quick on her feet and swiped away the plan book skillfully. "Ah-hah!" She opened it and slammed it onto the table, pulling a freshly inked pen. "Now that I have it, I mandate that we try to get back Yoh and therefore Horohoro and alert Jun and Bailong as soon as possible so all this crazy stuff can finally stop!"

She let her guard down for a mere second as she paused to ponder the wording of her very first order as a leader. Ren snatched it away. "That is the worst line of action I've ever heard!" He whipped out his own pen. "_I_ mandate that we forget about them, cut our losses, and focus on defending the village against any attack!"

"Well, _I_ mandate that you're an idiot!"

"And _I _mandate that you don't have a brain!"

"And _I _mandate that you both should stop arguing." Silva stepped in from the back room and dusted his hands off. "You've been fighting over nothing for the past ten minutes! Can't you two come to a consensus?"

The leaders bowed their heads in shame and studied each other. After a while: "No."

Silva sighed and ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. "Why don't you try compro—" They were all thrown off balance by a deafening explosion.

"What…What was that?" Pirika asked, her voice shaking as they all regained their composure. She threw open a window and looked up. "Guys! Look at the hill!" She pointed at the dark gray smoke that was curling out of Oh-Oni's castle.

* * *

**A/N:** Happy Halloween everyone! I would love to hear from you guys! Your comments always make my day brighter =) Also, consider checking out my other story _Unwritten _(hint, hint)


	4. Finding you can change

**IV. Finding you can change**

**

* * *

**

Redseb emerged from the smog inside the ballroom, coughing, his face covered in soot. "That was amazing!" he laughed.

Yoh, just as filthy, smiled. "I suppose so! Hopefully Oh-Oni doesn't get too mad."

"I-I-I-I totally forgot about her!" He paled. "Ooooh, I was just tryin' to help clean this place out! I didn't know that we'd hit some explosives…"

"I'm sure she'll understand. Anyways, you and Seyram have done a great job with the place. You cleaned almost half the castle in a day!" Redseb grinned and toed the ground.

"Aw, it's nothing, we're real good at cleaning anyways. There's nothing else to do here." Redseb flung himself over a nearby chair. "I sure hope this works."

"What works?" Yoh and Redseb scrambled up. Anna had appeared from behind the great doors of the ballroom. "What was that explosion. It literally almost threw me out of bed." She narrowed her eyes at the two.

Redseb whimpered and hid behind Yoh. "I'm sorry, Miss Oh-Oni! We…we were just tryin' to clean up the place so that it looks less sad and well…we were just hoping that it'd make you happy…" The little boy cowered and clung onto Yoh's legs.

She glared at them before her face softened. "Get out of here, Redseb." His eyes flew open in surprise at his lack of punishment and he ran out of the room for his life. "What are you doing?" She strode towards him, almost feline-like.

"Well, we lit a lamp and it touched off a crate of hidden explosives so that's what—"

"No, I said what _are_ you doing. Why are you being so kind to my servants? You're spending so much time with them." _And almost none with me_.

"They could use some company. It _has_ been five hundred years since they've had a guest." Yoh shrugged.

"You know, they're not the only ones lonely here." She began to turn away to leave. _Of course, why would I expect anything different of him_.

Yoh cocked an eyebrow. "Are you saying…are you saying that you would like for me to…" he left his sentence open ended to her interpretation.

She whipped around. "Of course not! I haven't needed another person for more than a thousand years, why should it be any—"

"Have you actually ever used this thing?" Yoh interrupted her, his hands pushed firmly into his pockets as he looked around the ballroom.

She scrunched up her nose in annoyance. "No, of course not, the entire thing is too musty for my liking and the chandelier is—"

Yoh pulled a switch and light flooded the room.

"Broken. How did you fix it?" She looked around. "And it's so clean…I never actually knew that this is how the ballroom looked like."

"Yeah, it was kind of a pain to spruce everything up. But look at the results! At least Redseb had fun, that's what matters."

She crossed her arms. "So you repaired a light and dusted some walls. It's not like I even know—"

"May I have this dance?" Yoh overly dramatically bowed and he looked up, smiling goofily at her.

Anna's head jerked back in self-consciousness. "I don't know how—"

"Here, I'll show you how." Yoh straightened up and reached towards her to grab her hand.

She instinctively jerked back into a defensive position, her body shaking and hair splayed over her face. "I-I'm not used to people touching me." She tentatively gave her trembling hand to Yoh.

He looked at her sadly, a mistreated and abused almost human being before him. "Why?" he whispered. She flinched as his hand brushed past her face to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why would anyone ever hurt you?" She stepped closer to him in a daze. "What have they done?" She clamped her eyes shut and willed herself not to remember anything.

"Teach me." She looked up at him suddenly, her expression the same bold one the elders had painted in the mural back at the village. "Teach me how to dance. I…I want to know how it feels…how it feels to be…human…to be…" She place her other hand slowly in his. "Happy."

He nodded understandingly and he guided her patiently through a simple box step, the mood lightening considerably as time passed. "So, do you want to explain to me how this spell thing works? Am I allowed to leave the grounds?"

"You're a sacrifice so technically you can't. But I suppose I could let you return…if you show that you deserve it." She looked up at him. "You probably won't be able to though. Just go ask Matamune if you need anything from the village."

He laughed. "Thanks for the confidence boost. But that's good to hear. Because I want to get you something that I think you would like." He twirled her around.

"Really now?" She rolled her eyes as they glided backwards.

"Hey, I honestly think you would!" He bowed graciously.

"Don't act like you know me." She bent down slightly in a half-hearted attempt at a curtsey. "Dinner will be in an hour." She straightened up and looked at him. "And clean yourself up."

He merely waved. "Thank you for dancing with me!" he called after her. She looked back before she went outside. "She looked back. She doesn't completely hate me." He smiled like an idiot in a daze.

* * *

"Goldva!" Silva and Kalim rushed in, nearly missing the door and running into the wall instead. "Goldva! Sir!"

The Patch man inhaled and turned around slowly. "What…is it? If you say it's that Tao boy and Ainu girl again…" He winced.

"No, it's not!" Silva panted, completely out of breath as Kalim nodded in agreement. "It's—" The two looked at each other uneasily.

Goldva raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Kalim opened his mouth and said unsteadily, "It's the statue…sir."

"What about it? Did the pigeons come back and—"

"No…it's…crying."

His eyes widened and prayed to the Great Spirit. "What is?" he asked even though he fully well knew what they were talking about.

"S-She is, sir."

Goldva's mouth hung open, mid sentence. "_Are you absolutely sure?_"

"Yes, we were doing our rounds like we always do and…when we passed by Lady Jeanne's statue. It was crying." Silva hesitated. "Crying _blood_."

He sank back into the chair he was sitting in. "Oh, Great Spirit. These times are trying us."

Kalim bounced up and down on his heels. "Sir, what does it mean?"

Goldva shook his head. "The elders after _The Iron Maiden_ occurred, built two statues, one for Lyserg and one for Lady Jeanne, in their memory. Every time on the eve before a calamity…her statue cries tears of blood."

Silva's brows furrowed. "What exactly constitutes a calamity?"

"Apparently, whatever is going to happen soon."

Kalim's eyes widened a little. "Are you saying that this has never happened before?"

Goldva sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately yes." He looked up at the two other elders. "May the Great Spirit be with us."

* * *

"So when are we going to start?" an orange haired girl with a slight figure and a slight fetish for guns asked excitedly, a smile beginning to curl sinisterly on her face. "I can't wait to see the look on that—"

"Calm down, Matilda," Peyote hissed as she glared back at him. "The meeting will start as soon as Master Hao feels like it." She went back to running her fingers through the bullets in her pocket.

"I know that it has been a long time for Master Hao and all, but really? How long is he going to keep us waiting?" Boris ran his tongue over his lips nervously.

"Not any longer." Hao swept into the room, the edges of his cloak skimming the ground as his loyal supporters turned their head in surprise.

"Master Hao! Shouldn't you be…working on more preparations?" Peyote inquired hesitantly, scared of what his master would do to him if he revealed too much.

"And leave my followers out here to dry? What kind of host do you think I am, Peyote?" Hao smiled serenely with an undertone of _We'll-discuss-this-later_ firmly weaved into his voice. "Onto business, shall we?" He strode over briskly to his chair into which he promptly slumped, propping his head up lazily with his arm. "So as you all know, it's Oh-Oni season. And what better way to kick off the festivities than with a little bloodshed and gore?" His audience murmured happily in response. "Don't you all think it's time for some…oh I don't know…_revenge_?" He shifted his gaze from the fireplace to Matilda. "You were disowned by your family and put on trial because of fake charges of witchcraft. _You_, the descendant of the original maiden sacrifices! Don't you want more respect? Don't you think that Kanna and Mari would be turning in their graves if they knew how you were treated?"

Matilda nearly dropped the gun she was playing with. "Damn straight, I do!"

"Boris. You were exiled just like me to the outskirts of the village merely because they thought you were a vampire and they believed wholeheartedly that you were in cahoots with Oh-Oni. You once were the premier scholar who collaborated with the elders. Now you're just the laughingstock of Onsen."

Boris nodded profusely.

"Hang Zang-Ching, you were becoming too famous for this village to handle and they were scared. Scared that you would draw too much attention and thus leave Onsen vulnerable to attack. So they quashed your career as a musician before you could even refuse."

He clenched his teeth.

"Every single one of you here has been hurt, ostracized, and shamed for things that were not your fault! Don't you see who started all of this? Who spearheaded all of these efforts."

Mohamed spoke up. "The Asakuras…sir."

"_Exactly_. My former family. And the cause for their irrational paranoia?"

"Oh-Oni!" Blocken called from the back of the room. Everyone began getting worked up. _Master Hao sure is good with this rhetoric nonsense_, Peyote thought, grinning inwardly.

"And now it's our time." He threw back the window curtain to reveal the castle in the distance, framed by the moonlit sky.

* * *

The two wolves came barreling down the hallway at her, crashing into each other before they skidded to a halt. It took everything in her to not scream. "What…is it?" she managed to spit out. They whined and nudged at her head, pushing her from behind towards the main hall. "Okay, I'm going, I'm going." She absent mindedly reached down to scratch both of them behind the ears in an attempt to calm them down. They pawed at the door until she finally opened it and poked her head outside. "Why—" She looked down. And gasped.

"Horohoro!" Said boy was lying face down in the slush, a generous amount of snow caked on top of him, and if she knew any better, she would've guessed that he had been there for a very long time. "Horohoro, wake up!" She rushed over to his side and began shaking him. "Please, you have to wake up, come on," she whispered over and over again religiously as if saying that mantra would have brought him back. "Come on, come on."

After five minutes of no response she furtively looked around and after deeming that no one was in the immediate vicinity, she seized a good portion of his cloak in both of her hands and pulled him through the castle doors. "Wake up," she muttered, kicking the door shut and wincing as his head bonked against the wall. The two wolves nudged open the door of an unused guest room that the inhabitants of the castle had long forgotten about some seven hundred years ago.

She managed, after a great deal of effort, to hoist him onto the bed and allowed herself a short break before continuing. The girl pulled out a book of matches, took one out, lit a candle and threw the still burning stick into the dusty hearth. It burst into life as she settled him under the sheets, finally resigning to staying on the bed, his head resting on her lap as she was too exhausted to move anymore. The girl closed her eyes and exhaled, only opening them when she realized that her hands were on his head. _Stop it…You know you can't—_

He roused with a grumble and a cough. The Ainu leader looked up at the girl whose lap his head was resting on. "Oh." He blinked. "Hey there." He smiled.

Her eye twitched as she simply stared down at him and he stared up at her. They remained like this for a good two minutes until she stood up abruptly, forcing his head to slide off of her lap and hit the headboard rather hard. "That's all you have to say?"

He sat up, dusting the half-melted snow off his back and rubbing his head. "Ouch, that hurt…" he muttered. "What are you talking about?"

"You were lying outside in the snow for Great Spirit knows how long and all you have to say is 'Oh, hey there'?" she demanded.

He poked at a clump of ice that had settled on the bridge of his nose. "Huh. You're right. I guess I was just happy to see you, is all." The ice fell off and quickly began melting as it hit the blanket.

She could've sworn her heartbeat just got a million times louder as she tried calming herself down. "S-Sorry for yelling. But why were you just out there. You could've died!" Her voice got a bit louder, a bit angrier by the end of her sentence.

He sneezed. "I think I forgot to go back down to the village yesterday. So I just fell asleep." Horohoro yawned.

"You fell asleep." She blinked. "In the snow." She set her mouth into a straight line. "Overnight."

He looked up momentarily as he thought. "Yup. Pretty much."

She sighed as she sat back down on the bed. "You're crazy."

He turned quickly. "Hey, you're acting different. _And_ you looked at me for the first time!" He bounced up and down excitedly.

"Shh!" Her hands waved in front of his face. "You're not supposed to be in here! If Oh-Oni knew…" The girl shivered at the thought.

He shrugged. "Then I'll go so you won't get in trouble—"

"Not that either…You should stay here until you get better at least." She pouted worriedly. "What to do, what to do…"

He watched her as she paced back and forth. "D—er, well, I got you to finally look at me instead of the floor. Let's try names. What _is_ your real name? I've been talking to you for weeks now and I still don't know it!"

His words echoed around in her head before piercing whatever ounce of human was left in her. In more than a thousand years, this was the first time someone had asked her for her name. It was a miracle she actually remembered what to say. She simply looked at him as her lower lip began trembling, tears threatening to well up in her eyes. "My name…" Her voice caught in her throat. "My name is Tamao Tamamura. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

* * *

"Oh-Oni!" Yoh called down the hallway. He turned back to Matamune. "Thank you so much!" The cat merely smiled and bowed before departing.

"It was no problem. I always enjoy visiting the village anyways."

As he watched Matamune walk away, Yoh frowned a bit. "The village…" _I really have been neglecting my duties…I'm not being selfish…right?_ He shook his head. Sure, enjoying himself, relaxing and meeting new people while the village was in utter chaos wasn't being selfish. _Wait, I don't even know if the village is in chaos…or if it's still standing even. I haven't even thought about Onsen once these past couple of weeks_.

"You called?" Anna walked in, effectively interrupting his inner berating.

Yoh snapped out of it. "Er, yeah! So Matamune got a chance to go down to Onsen and picked up what I wanted to show you." He smiled as he motioned for her to move over. "Look!" He threw back the cover to reveal a very old and outdated television set.

She looked very unimpressed. "A TV?"

His face fell. "Oh…you know what it is?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. I'm a demon, not a caveman. I still keep up with what's going on in the world around me." She walked over a turned the two knobs until it got a signal.

"What are you looking—"

"Judging by what time it is in the day, it is supposed to be time for Awayaringo to be on." She continued crouching in front of the screen until a picture finally crackled into view. "There."

A gaunt, pale slab of a woman was screeching onscreen, her creepiness factor tripled by the amount of eyeliner she was wearing. "Er, she's kinda scary…" Yoh winced as the lady kept singing. He and Anna remained there, watching for thirty more minutes until she finally spoke.

Anna didn't even bother turning around. "She's misunderstood. What she's singing…is actually very beautiful and emotional. She just looks scary on the outside. It's just a getup."

"Just…like you…right?"

She whirled around to face him, Awayaringo still singing on the television. "_What_?"

He smiled at her. "You pretend that you're this terrible, fearsome creature to everyone else, even your servants. But really, you're just misunderstood and lonely. And underneath it all, you have a pure and beautiful heart."

She stared at him, uncertainty still clouding her eyes and stood up wordlessly and exited the room. She closed the dividing door between them and sat down, her back resting against the wood and rice paper. She waited until Awayaringo's hour long episode finished and was going to return to the other room, confident that he had left a long time ago.

"You know, you don't need to keep your distance anymore. You don't need to be afraid of me leaving." His voice carried clearly through the fragile barrier that was separating them. She flinched from opening the door and merely pulled her legs to her chest in response. "I'm staying here with you."

Anna slammed her hands onto the ground. "Why? Why would you do that to yourself? Why would you want to be with me and try to understand me when you could be anywhere else?" She demanded, her eyes having gone crazy a long time ago. "Don't you want to leave?"

"No."

Anna sunk to the floor as she reeled back from the simplicity of his answer.

"You still look sad. I can't…leave you when you still feel sad."

She frowned. "Don't expect me to thank you later," she called. She heard him laugh. "You expect me to thank you, don't you? Well, I'm not!" Her anger began rising as the room he was in fell silent.

* * *

Three voices in the main hall began whispering. "Are you _positive_?"

Redseb rolled his eyes. "Of course, I am, Matamune! They went into the room more than an hour ago and haven't left since!" he hissed.

Tamao widened her eyes and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh-Oni has never taken so kindly to one of her guests before," she whispered in awe. The happiness inside of her began to swell. Never before in all 1079 years they had been trapped in the castle had Oh-Oni ever shown any type of affection or closeness.

"More like to anyone here before…" Redseb muttered.

Matamune crossed his paws in front of him. "Perhaps…he is the one that she will learn to love. Because it appears that he already loves her."

Tamao pursed her lips in thought. "But she has to let him love her. She keeps pushing him away. Remember? 'And learn to _be_ loved.'"

"Awww, she better! Otherwise, none of us will be free! This is our last chance!"

Matamune's ears pricked up. "Shh…listen!" The three sat there in silence before jumping when they heard a loud slap. "From the sounds of it, our chances might be slipping away." The three of them listened as they heard their master shout, clearly enraged, at Yoh.

Tamao's face fell and she bowed her head. "Oh no…" Redseb whispered and sunk to the floor.

They were about to walk away before Matamune called their attention again. "Wait!"

Yoh's muffled voice reached them outside. "The year is going to be over after this…Why don't we go to the castle temple?"

Tamao brought her hands back to her face. "B-B-But Oh-Oni has never been outside before! Ever since we were sent up here…And to get to the temple, she has exit the castle and walk all the way to the other side of the grounds!" Her voice lowered even more. "She's going to say no…" Matamune and Redseb looked sadly at her.

"O…okay."

The three servants scrambled up. "Did she just…?"

Redseb bounced up and down. "She…she did!"

Tamao softly clapped her hands together. "Oh, I never guessed she would! She must really like him too if she would—" Muffled footsteps began getting louder and closer to them and Tamao, Redseb, and Matamune quickly dispersed and ran their separate ways before their master could find them eavesdropping.

* * *

"How about…here?" The scratch of pen against paper quickly stopped as the writer realized her mistake. "That's no good either."

"No, the first part is fine. But the supply line's weakness will be even greater if we continue along that path. We need to make a break, right?"

"Oh, I see what you're saying. So maybe if we go around here…"

"Yes…yes! That's it. Then the village would still be secure even if we leave—"

Silva scurried inside to find Pirika and Ren hunched over their plans as they were actually—_gasp_—cooperating. _And working together _well_, from the looks of it_, Silva observed in pleasant surprise. The two leaders looked up, their faces clearly fatigued from the two days straight of staying up they had forced themselves to endure. "Er…I'm sorry to interrupt your plans."

Pirika blinked blearily as if she just realized that she hadn't slept in forty eight hours. "What is it, Silva?" She yawned and stretched back.

"I have very urgent and bad news. We have heard among the villagers that…" He turned his head sharply away from them so that he wouldn't have to see their faces when the heard the news. "That Hao has begun building up support and arms for a revolt…and something even more dangerous than that."

Pirika cocked her head. "Something…more dangerous?"

Silva hesitated. "I'm not even sure if that's right. But rumor has it that he has a way of killing Oh-Oni…and Yoh."

Ren closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his hand. "This is the last thing we could possibly need right now."

"What do you want us to do?" Silva could have laughed at the irony of the situation. An experienced council of elders asking two green-horned, immature leaders for orders. But the more he observed Pirika and Ren, Ainu and Tao, working together, the more he could've sworn that he saw their fathers in their places. _Their fathers were the best leaders Onsen has ever had…These kids sure have learned to cooperate well_.

The two looked at each other. Ren nodded as Pirika spoke. "Make preparations to fight."

* * *

_I know going outside will be hard for you…but I'll help you. This can only help you to become stronger for the next time._

_ Don't you want to make a wish? Making a wish, one that is dear to your heart, at the temple during New Year's is the most effective way of making sure it comes true._

_ I know you've never done this before…even back when you were human. But don't think of it as a sign of weakness. As a sign that you need someone's protection. Think of it as a way to set a goal to bettering yourself._

_ Even if praying to the Great Spirit doesn't tame that demon of yours, then it doesn't matter. What matters is that you finally tried. I'll wait for you. You'd better not fall asleep, okay? Just come to me when you're ready._

_ What do you wish for this year?_

Anna looked at her reflection in the mirror and just breathed.

* * *

**A/N**: sorry for missing last saturday's update. let's just say these two past weeks have been terrible.

Remember: reviews are love =) I would **_love _**to hear what you think about this chapter! it was really fun writing this one in particular. reading your reviews and what you thought about this story seriously always make my day.


	5. Barely even friends

**V. Barely even friends**

**

* * *

**"Ahem." There was a knock on the boy's door.

"Oh, hey there, Matamune. What's up?" The cat held up a paper bag. "You got the stuff I asked for!" He nodded. "Thanks a bunch. I won't bother you anymore."

"Never a bother, Yoh." Matamune began to walk away.

"Er, Matamune, can I ask you a question?"

"You most certainly can." The cat gracefully leapt up onto the fine wooden desk to join the boy he was speaking with.

"Can you tell me the real story of why Oh-Oni was imprisoned?"

The cat tilted his head quizzically. "Real?"

"When I first arrived here and referenced the fable about her that the elders had been endorsing, she simply laughed."

"Ah, yes. The elders. I suppose it is understandable. Oh-Oni has a very dark and painful past. It is no wonder she would not want to speak about it. But, for you to love her, you must love everything about her. And to do that, you must first learn everything about her…Oh don't give me that look, you are at the very least well on your way to being completely in love, boy!"

Yoh scratched the back of his head. "I didn't know this would be so embarrassing…"

Matamune smiled. "Well, you're in for quite a story. Once upon a time, 1080 years ago, in a village you are quiet familiar with, Onsen, there lived a girl. She was about your age. Early on in life, she experienced many tragedies. Her mother, already an outcast of the village, died giving birth to Anna. She never knew her father.

"Anna grew up an orphan, being shunned by everyone in Onsen who thought she was just like her mother: an insane woman. Anna was a rather special girl. She wasn't like…everyone else. She could literally unwillingly see into everyone's minds and thus could _feel_ everyone else's emotions in the immediate vicinity. And growing up in a close village, Anna could feel everyone's feelings around her. Most of the time, they were very negative feelings. All of the hatred that she felt from everyone convinced her that all humans were weak, greedy, disgusting creatures and her hatred of them only contributed to all the rage she was feeling. This pent up anger and rage manifested itself in the form of an oni."

"Oh-Oni."

"Exactly. However, even though this was marked off as her being a witch by all the other villagers, her ability wasn't overlooked by a certain shaman. He, although first intrigued by it, soon came to fear Anna's ever increasing power and knew that one day, she would be able to use it against him. Therefore, he fabricated the story of the birth of a powerful demon in the castle.

"Knowing that the villagers would be overjoyed at the prospect of getting rid of Anna forever, he told them that the only way to get banish the demon was if they sent her up there. The villagers came to her the same night in a mob and forced her up the mountain and locked her inside the castle. She tried to fight back but…the villagers were too much. After they had all left, the shaman visited, casting a curse on her and giving her the 1080 beads.

"Redseb and Seyram were being cared for by Anna before the villagers came and locked her up. She identified with them since they too were orphans. Their parent had also been ostracized by the village, being labeled as a psychotic mad man before he died. They decided that if they were going to get rid of the resident village freak, might as well cleanse the village of all the unwanted people in them. They forced Seyram and Redseb into the castle along with Tamao who had been marked as a witch."

"The village used her…It used all of them." Yoh was stunned as he spoke. "The elders…they made up that story so that they wouldn't be blamed for their past mistreatment. So they wouldn't be cast into a negative light for their past abuses."

"Now you understand why she is filled with so much hatred. You can hardly blame her after what she has been through…what the village has done to her."

* * *

Later that evening, Yoh was woken from his light nap by an angry sounding clearing of the throat. He roused with a start and hopped off the banister he had been sitting on.

"You decided to come!" He forced a smile, remembering his conversation with Matamune earlier, and opened the door for her. She paused as if she was unsure of what to do. "What's the matter?"

"I…" She brushed past him and stepped forward so that she was _just_ behind the threshold that separated the castle floor and the outside snow. "I haven't been outside…" He looked at her. She paused and shook her head, evidently embarrassed by what she was about to say. "In…1079 years." She cleared her throat, daring him to say anything.

He blinked blankly at her. "Isn't…that how long you've actually _been_ in the castle?"

"Yes, and what of it?" she snapped impatiently. "I never felt the need to…to…" She ran out of steam before she even knew what she was ranting about. "Hmph."

"I was just wondering is all. Nothing wrong with not wanting to go outside. It's cold and wet most of the time anyways." He shrugged it off innocently as he draped his cloak around her.

Anna stared at the rough material. She couldn't bring herself to tell him the real reason. _Tell him that I'm scared that I'll lose control outside? And that no one would be around to help me? How pathetic._ She tentatively shuffled into the frost, inwardly hissing as the sun rays directly hit her pale skin.

"See, not so bad, right?" Yoh asked, striding briskly through the snow, his breath visibly curling into the biting winter air. "It's nice to be in the sun once in a while."

_Easy for you to say. You haven't gone more than ten centuries without sunlight._ Anna grumpily picked her way delicately over the dirty slush on the ground. "Why are you even going with me? I thought I was the only one praying to the Great Spirit."

He looked back at her and helped her over a precarious looking rock. "Aw, I thought I was allowed to make a wish too. It's the New Year for everyone!" he teased, looking up at the sun that had freed itself from behind the curtains of perpetual clouds. "Hey, even the sun decided to make an appearance for the start of this year." He smiled as sunlight began filtering around him, making Yoh look like some kind of misplaced angel and causing Anna to stop walking and just _stare_.

_What do you wish for this year…Oh-Oni?_

"Hmm?" He turned around, surprised at her sudden stop.

"I…" _I wish for…_

"Is something wrong?"

"You." _To stay with me always._

"What about me?" He peered at her in concern.

She blinked as she snapped out of it. "You…you're walking too fast," she barked as she shuffled forward, quickly overtaking him.

Yoh raised an eyebrow. "Er…sorry?"

She kept walking ahead of him, her feet spraying snow around her as she madly shuffled forth. "Do you know why I have never been outside?"

He shook his head but then realized she wouldn't be able to see him, what with her back towards him and all. "No."

He heard her clear her throat. "It's because I can feel people's emotions around me more easily." She paused momentarily in her rapid strides. "From the village."

Yoh was surprised that she was telling him all of this. "What does—"

"I turn into my Oh-Oni form whenever I feel too much anger. And…I can feel other people's emotions. So when I'm outside, all of their negative feelings accumulates inside of me and…" She reached forward to rest all of her weight on the handle of the temple door. Anna looked back at him to gauge his response.

He simply looked at her understandingly.

"That still doesn't make you want to leave?"

"What?"

"That I lose control easily." They entered the cold stone temple.

He sighed. "Why are you so convinced that I'm just going to get up and leave you one of these days?" He smiled at her. "Losing control is human nature. You just express it differently from everyone else. Doesn't mean you're bad."

The girl demon nodded slowly as they walked towards the shrine. "Y…Yeah."

* * *

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Redseb asked in between the bounces of the ball Matamune had brought back for him from the village.

Tamao leaned forward to check on the soup she was boiling. "Cooking."

Redseb hopped forward to prevent his new present from entering the soup pot. "I can see _that_. I meant _why_ are you cooking?"

She sniffed at the pot before deciding to add some more salt to it. "For New Years."

"But you never cook on New Years." Seyram looked up and silently gave her agreement before resuming brushing her new doll's hair.

"Well…this…this year is different!" she stammered out, turning red as she slammed the lid down as if to prove her point.

Redseb laughed and jutted his thumb in the direction of the room the village leader was in. "It's because of him…isn't it?" The two eternal children exchanged amused looks as their fellow servant bit her lip.

"Is it so bad that it is?" She paused sadly before taking the chicken out of the oven.

The little boy went over to her side to admire the cooked poultry. "No. Y'know, it would actually be good…if we were in a diff'rent circumstance…You know, Miss Oh-Oni…"

"Yeah…I do," she said softly. "But I'm still holding out for that curse to be broken this year."

"Aren't we all." Matamune walked into the kitchen. "These two aren't bothering you, are they, Miss Tamamura?"

"Matamune!" She removed her oven mitts before washing her hands. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking on you all. Our newest guest said that he could smell some 'intense cooking going on here.' His words, not mine." The cat climbed onto the chair.

Redseb joined the talking cat. "Hey, Matamune?"

"Redseb, I already gave you your present."

"I wasn't going to—! Anyways, do ya think Miss Oh-Oni is gonna be able to break the curse?"

Seyram looked up while Redseb waited expectantly for the answer.

"I…honestly do not know. The sacrifice this time…is quite exceptional. Full of surprises. In fact, he's the one who asked me to get you those gifts for New Years."

Redseb tightened his grip around his new toy. Seyram blinked at her doll. Tamao looked down at her new apron.

"Oh…"

"Miss Tamamura, that reminds me…" He exited out of the kitchen for a moment, lugging back a sewing machine as he returned inside. "The Ainu boy asked me to get this for you."

Tamao nearly dropped the bowl she was carrying. "Wh-What? Why?"

The cat simply shrugged before he left. "Why don't you go and ask him?"

She stood there stupidly until she noticed Redseb had been grinning at her for the past four minutes. "Oh, be quiet." She turned around to put back on the unflattering cloth gloves onto her hands before he tugged on her arm.

"Tamaooooo…"

"What do you want me to do?"

Redseb looked at his sister. Seyram stood up and tugged on the older girl's arm, leading her outside of the kitchen and towards the guest room.

Tamao began panicking. "I-I…You know…I can't just…what do I…."

Seyram rolled her eyes and pushed her towards the door and walked away.

"Eep!" She scrambled to regain her balance inside the village leader's room. "Er…hello there." She bowed rather formally at him, not knowing what else to do. "Sorry for bothering you, I'll just be leaving…now…"

"Nah, you're never a bother. Why don't you stay for a bit?" Horohoro put down the book he was reading.

"Oh! Oh…um…okay." She sat down awkwardly at the very edge of his bed. "Thank you for the sewing machine…"

His face lit up. "You saw it? Do you like it?"

"Of course I do. But….why did you get it for me?" Her eyes nervously flitted around the room.

"Well, you were talking about how you wish you had one when one of the kids ripped their clothes. And it looks like you guys could use some new threads…no offense or anything," he added hurriedly as he saw how embarrassed Tamao got as she self-consciously wrapped her arms around her worn out dress.

"O…kay. Thank you very—"

"You were talking about a curse earlier!" he blurted out loudly. "I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear!"

"We're trapped here."

He sank back into bed. "Huh."

"Because of the curse that was placed on Oh-Oni over a thousand years ago. She was given a necklace made out of 1080 beads. Every year that passes that Oh-Oni doesn't learn about love, one of the beads has turned black. If all the beads go out, then we will be trapped in this castle forever."

"Then this year is your last, isn't it?"

Her head, which had been tilted downwards the entire time, flew up. "How did—"

"Hey, I may be an idiot, but I'm not clueless." He reached forward to pat her hand. "I asked the little guy."

"Ah. Redseb."

"That reminds me, when can I see Yoh?"

"Er…never?" Tamao forced a smile.

"What do you mean?" he whined.

"You can't ever leave this room until you get better. When that happens, you have to go straight back to the village…or else, Oh-Oni will see you and heads will roll. Yours especially."

"Feh. Fine."

* * *

He cradled her as they sat on the stone floor of the castle, her entire body beginning to calm down after it had been convulsing for the past ten minutes when they had began their trek back to the castle.

"I'm weak," she whispered. "I knew I couldn't do it."

"Don't say that…"

"I knew it, I _knew_ it."

"How long did it take you to lose control the last time you went outside?"

She averted her eyes. "As soon as I exited the castle. I couldn't remain outdoors for more than a minute at a time." Her mouth opened as soon as she comprehended his point. "Ah."

He nodded happily. "See?"

She sat up quickly so she wouldn't have to look at him when she admitted he had been right. "What did you pray for?"

"The village…" His voice trailed off as his eyes rested on the door that was right next to the trail that would take him back home.

"You're worried." She crouched down beside him, observing him curiously.

He exhaled. "Yeah, I haven't been back for a while. Last time I checked, everything was in chaos. I wonder how everyone is doing…"

She studied him for a long time. "Follow me." She quickly made her way to the room as Yoh struggled to keep up with her.

"What are you—" He jerked back when Anna thrust an old looking hand held mirror at him. "Huh?"

"Use it before I change my mind." She closed the drawer she had retrieved it from. "Look into it and it will allow you to see whatever you want without leaving the castle."

He placed his hand on her shoulder, overcome by the kindness he never had guessed she had in her. "Thank you."

She shook her head. "Now we're even. Just return it when you're finished." She left to give him some privacy.

* * *

_Pirika tried punching him in the stomach. "Let go of me!" she screamed._

_Nichrom sighed as he grabbed her wrists even tighter. "I __told you we should've knocked her out first. She's rather irritating."_

_Ren slammed the door open as he entered. "What's going on here?" he demanded. "Pirika!"_

_"They think I'm crazy! They're gonna ship me off to Mu!" She kicked Nichrom in the shins._

_"The asylum? What do you think you're doing Nichrom?" Ren snarled at the youngest Patch elder._

_"She claims that Oh-Oni isn't the one in the castle…she says that it was…tell him who you said it was, Usui."_

_"For the tenth time, I'm telling the truth! I saw Anna—"_

_"Anna, as in the mother of our village. First, it is incredibly disrespectful to the history of Onsen and to Anna's memory to say that. Second, the Book clearly states for the denouement of any village leader if he or she is deemed unfit to lead by a majority of the elders. And being mentally unstable clearly indicates that she is unfit."_

_Ren clenched his fists. "A __majority, Nichrom."_

_He smiled tauntingly at the Tao boy. "Yes, I am aware. The only two elders who didn't vote to depose her were Silva and Kalim." Pirika continued struggling against the Patch elder's grip. "Settle down."_

_"Nichrom, stop this. There are much more important things to worry about and leaving the village one leader short is not the way to handle it. What about Hao's disciples? They're starting to assemble. In fact, many of the villagers are beginning to defect to his forces. We still have the Oh-Oni attacks to defend against. And, I hate to admit it, but I have actually started to trust Pirika's judgments."_

_"By trusting her, you are committing yourself to believing what she has seen," Nichrom warned._

_Ren shrugged. "So be it then."_

_Nichrom sighed. "As much as I hate you Tao, it is unfair to leave Onsen completely leaderless. But, have it your way." He snapped his fingers. "Take him away as well. Put them on the next ship to Mu."_

* * *

The image faded away as several figures swarmed into the frame and grabbed Ren as if they were in a twisted, silent movie.

"Oh, Great Spirit. Ren…Pirika…." He darted outside, still clasping the mirror. "Oh-Oni!"

Anna had been waiting right by the door. "Yes?"

"The…" He trailed off as he realized that she wouldn't let him leave. She wouldn't be sympathetic towards the same village that had abused and mistreated her.

She read his face and frowned. "Onsen is in trouble…isn't it?"

He winced as he nodded. "Yes…the elders…"

"Have always been corrupt." She drummed her fingers on the wall behind her. "Yes, I know. If…if they really mean that much to you…" She bit her lip. "Go."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. I don't know how this is going to turn out…but…I trust you." She tapped the mirror he was holding. "Please. Take it with you so that you can look into it and remember…" _Me_. "Remember everyone back in this castle." She let her hand drop to her side. "Please come back."

He clasped the mirror. "I promise I will."

As he departed through the castle doors and into the wintery night, Matamune joined her as the two watched him disappear down the trail.

"This is a first for you. Is there...possibly—"

"Quiet, Matamune." She closed the door, trying to appear as unaffected as she always did. "We're barely even friends."

* * *

**A/N**: oh boy, climax of the story next chapter? how fun! I'm looking forward to writing it =) Review this story and make my day!

have you enjoyed this story so far and like AnnaYoh? try reading _My Commensal_!

what about TamaoHoro, RenPirika, AnnaYoh, and many others? try reading _Unwritten_.

LysergJeanne? try _Camera Obscura_.

these are all my other stories i have written (so far! i have a ton more...as you can probably tell from my profile page haha) happy days to you all!

don't forget to review ;)


	6. Then somebody bends

**VI. Then somebody bends**

**

* * *

**The village was finally in sight and Yoh sprinted towards it. He slowed down to a jog as soon as he saw that a mob had accumulated.

"Silva!" he called out to the Patch elder who had been angrily shaking his head moments earlier. "What's…what's happening?"

"The villagers, they're all in revolt because…" Silva couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Because of what?" Yoh hurriedly pressed him for answers. Silva closed his eyes.

"More like because of _whom_, dear brother of mine." The crowd parted, letting their leader through. Hao smiled serenely at him. "Oh how I've imagined this day."

"Hao." Yoh angrily clenched his teeth.

"What does it look like? Reclaiming what was rightfully _mine_ in the first place." He narrowed his eyes at his younger brother.

"What are you talking about?" he spat out.

"So much hostility! Come now, we're _family_ after all. I'm talking about being heir of the Asakura family." Hao lowered his voice to a whisper. "And I'm using the village to do it."

Yoh saw that the mob had started to become restless. "Hao, you're not going to get away with this! _Amidamaru_!" His family guardian tore through the crowd and came to his master's side.

"You really think that that puny samurai can stand up to what I have in store?" Hao rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A huge deity stepped down from the sky. "It's been a while…Spirit of Fire." He looked up fondly at the huge quasi-god as Yoh and the other villagers gaped. He turned back to his brother.

"H-H-How is this possible, the Spirit of Fire can only—"

Silva looked up as Hao began to speak in a low voice. "Please, Yoh. I refuse to believe that I'm related to such an imbecile. You cannot possibly expect me to believe you haven't noticed yet? All the clues that the elders over the years have left for the entire _village_ have been in vain? The shaman who imprisoned Anna, the shaman who killed Lilirara, the shaman who started the war to prevent Lyserg and Jeanne from being together." He cocked his head as both his brother and the elder narrowed their eyes.

"That shaman." He drew closer to Yoh and Silva. "Was." A smile appeared on his face. "Me." He licked his lips and watched as the horror spread across his brother's face. "I have power beyond your imagination. Millennia's worth of experience and knowledge that can allow me to crush this village and the entire country with a snap of my fingers. It's that simple."

"You—" Yoh blinked as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"Now, as I was saying earlier before I was _so_ rudely interrupted, since we are family after all, I'm prepared to cut you a deal."

Amidamaru protectively stepped in front of Yoh, his hand already at the hilt of his sword. "What could you possibly want, Hao?"

"Just control of the Asakura fortune, your position as heir, and power as the village leader. You see, Yoh, I'm accumulating as many villages as I can so that my life's goal can be complete." Hao had been talking to Yoh for so long that the mob behind him began to start shift impatiently.

"What. Life's. Goal." Yoh forced himself to ask.

"Merely world domination before I die and have to wait five hundred years again to be reincarnated. So what do you say? I'll persuade the villagers not to riot, you'll look like the hero once that Tao girl comes back home, your precious demon and her little minions will be safe, and I won't destroy Onsen. All if you renounce your title as heir. Sounds too fantastic to be true, doesn't it?" Hao looked at him smugly as he shrugged. "Sometimes I am much too nice for my own good."

If Yoh gave up the Asakura fortune and power, Hao would end up destroying the world. If he didn't, Hao would end up destroying the world. _Oh boy, what to do, what to do._ "Sorry, Hao, but I'm going to have to say no to your proposal."

His brother stepped backwards so that he rejoined the angry mob. "Ah, so you choose imminent death and destruction? Have it your way."

Yoh turned to the villagers in the hopes of persuading them. "What the elders have been telling you is a _lie_." The chattering of the crowd died down. "They've told you Ren and Pirika are wrong but really, it's true. Anna, the mother of our village, is residing up in the castle, _not _Oh-Oni." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hao animatedly telling Nichrom something at the sidelines.

Nichrom angrily yelled something out and several of the elders darted forward and seized Yoh by the wrists. "Put him with the other two and send them all to Mu."

* * *

"Wake up, boy!" Matamune hissed as he rushed into Horohoro's room and promptly scratched him across the face.

"_Yeeoww!_" The Ainu leader's eyes flew open as his hands covered his face. "What in the Great Spirit's name was that for?!" He glared down at the cat.

"I am _sorry_ if you are not perceptive enough when it comes to matters concerning the _village_ you are supposed to leading, but Onsen needs you _immediately_," Matamune spat out as he yanked the sleepy boy out of bed.

"Wha—Onsen? What's happening?" he asked, panic beginning to fill his eyes while he pulled on his cloak and boots Tamao had set out by his bed earlier.

"The villagers are revolting under Hao." Matamune flung the door open and grabbed the boy by his arm. "Your sister and that Ren child have been taken by the elders to the port."

"The port? But the only ferries that are leaving right now are the ones for…" His voice trailed off and his eyes widened. "They're taking them to Mu."

"We must make haste if we want to save them…and whatever is left of the village." Matamune bounded down the hallways towards the main door, Horohoro sprinting his fastest to keep up.

"Matamune! Horohoro! Where are you two going?" Tamao looked down from the banister of the second floor, clearly startled, as the two came barreling down the stairs towards the entrance of the castle.

The blue haired boy ran back upstairs and grabbed the confused girl's hand. "Come with me! And then after we save the village you can…you can stay at Onsen…with us," he panted out breathlessly, smiling at her as they flew down towards the main door.

Tamao's face felt like it was on fire. "B-But I…can't." She stopped in her tracks right before Horohoro and Matamune opened the door.

"You don't need to be afraid. I'm sure Oh-Oni will understand."

The servant girl shook her head. "I literally can't. There's a barrier that keeps Oh-Oni, the children and myself in the castle." She looked up at him. "We haven't been able to return to the village in all this time." The Ainu leader's face fell as Matamune began pulling at his cloak. "But you and Matamune can. That's what's important right now." She put on a brave face. "Go, you two. And take the wolves!" she called after them.

"Go and warn Oh-Oni. Ponchi! Conchi!" Matamune ordered before racing down the trail, time slipping away all the while.

As they neared the base of the hill, Matamune threw his paw out in front of Horohoro to stop him and the two wolves. "Wait." There was a troop of soldiers marching with three figures bound and gagged. "Stay here with them." The cat bounded towards the crowd.

"Change of plans. There are actually going to be _three_ new patients for your asylum." Matamune could hear Nichrom's lazy drawl as the man he was talking to nodded.

"Who would the third one be, elder? We already have the two leaders—"

"The Asakura boy. Yoh." Matamune backed away slowly before running towards Horohoro.

"They've gotten Yoh too. No time to spare."

They began transferring the three prisoners onto the boat. "Sir, are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"

Nichrom nodded as he stepped onto the ferry, making sure he stepped on Ren's leg in the process. "I can handle them. How difficult can this be."

The soldier shrugged. "All of you, to the castle!" The crowd cheered before parting.

"Stupid elder. He thinks that just because—" Pirika growled.

"Psst! Hey!" Horohoro and Matamune waved from underneath a tarp on the ship.

"Mata—!" Ren kicked Yoh in the shin before he could draw attention to themselves. Luckily, Nichrom was still making preparations around the boat.

"Ponchi, Conchi, you know what to do." The two wolves trotted over silently to gnaw on the ropes that bound the three. "Now how are we going to do this…"

Ren rubbed at where the ropes had chafed at his wrist and stretched. "Allow me." He promptly stalked up behind the elder, tapped him on the shoulder, and headbutted him in the stomach, rendering Nichrom unconscious.

His fellow village leader and Matamune crawled out from under the tarp. "Well, that's one way of going about it." Pirika and Yoh quickly tied the elder's wrists and legs together and gagged him before they all leapt off of the boat.

"Took you long enough," Ren snarled at Horohoro.

"Er…I can explain?"

"Explanations later. The entire village and the soldiers are going up to the castle as we speak."

"Where did these wolves come from?" Pirika stared at them.

"Long story."

"Hold on." She let out a high pitched whistle and after a minute, Kororo came leaping towards them. "Now we can go and kick Hao's butt!"

* * *

"Redseb, Seyram! You have to go and start securing the castle." The two children nodded before they split up. "Now I have to find Oh-Oni." Tamao picked up her skirts as she ran towards the West Wing. "She's the only chance we have left. She can perform the seal so that—" The girl skidded to a halt as she saw that Oh-Oni had collapsed in her room. "Oh no!" She rushed to her master's side. "Miss, Miss! Oh-Oni!" She kept shaking her. "Yoh leaving must have been too much and…and triggered…oh dear." Tamao lugged the demon so that she was lying down on the bed. "Wake up! Please, our survival depends on you!" Tamao's eyes began to fill with tears as she saw that the other girl's breathing was getting shallower by the minute. "Wake up!" Her voice was shaking. "Anna!" Tamao blinked in surprise as she realized she had said the girl's name in the first time in several centuries. "Anna, wake up!"

"Tamao, what are you shouting about?" she grumbled as she pushed herself out of bed.

"Oh-Oni! Ah, I'm sorry to disturb you but…the villagers…"

"So it has begun. I see." Anna sighed.

"You're not worried?" Tamao stared at her incredulously.

"Well, I've been hearing their thoughts get increasingly angry and violent for the past few weeks now. It wasn't a surprise." Her eyes flashed fiercely. "You and the others need to protect the castle while I make preparations for the sealing." Tamao nodded wordlessly. "I'll need twenty minutes before I'm ready for it."

* * *

"Why can't you just leave us alone!" Redseb yelled as he barricaded the door. He drew the keys out of his pocket to lock the huge door but was promptly thrown back as the crowd of villagers proved to be too much. "Aaaah!" The boy closed his eyes to brace himself for the impact but was surprised to find himself safe. "Huh?" He looked up to see who his savior was.

"Best to be careful." The masked man stared down at him.

Redseb simply gaped. "W-Who are you?"

The man surveyed the room before answering. "Asakura. Mikihisa Asakura." And with that, he disappeared, leaving the bewildered boy behind.

"Redseb!" He turned to find two people running full speed at him.

"Aaaaaah, please don't kill me!" He threw up his hands in self defense. "I never saw Tokyo!" Then he heard a laugh. And then a voice. He peeked between his fingers. "Mister? Blue haired idiot?"

Yoh smiled while Horohoro frowned. "Where's Oh-Oni?"

"Tamao said that she's makin' preparations for the sealing."

"Sealing?"

The little boy nodded sagely. "Yup. It's the only way to get rid of the shaman and one of the five deities. I think."

"The Spirit of Fire." Yoh furrowed his brows.

"Yoh! Hao is gone!" Pirika called as she and Ren ran back to the group.

"What? But we were right behind him on the way up the trail. Do you think…"

Ren frowned. "He probably is. Where's the demon?"

"Probably in the West Wing," Redseb piped up.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Redseb, go find Seyram and take the wolves. Drive the villagers out of the castle and barricade all the entrances. Horohoro, Pirika, Ren, take out Hao's main supporters. You know them. Peyote, Boris, Matilda, Blocken, Hang Zang-Ching, Mohamed."

Pirika turned back to face Yoh before they all went about their tasks. "Yoh, what about you?"

"Save the village."

* * *

On the highest point of the castle, the roof of the West Wing, Anna took a deep breath before she threaded her fingers through the 1080 beads. The last glowing stone glinted back at her. She looked up at the sky. "How appropriate…" she muttered as she observed gathering storm clouds. _I suppose that's better for the seal to work anyways._

She slowly wound the beads to form an intricate pattern between her fingers.

* * *

_"One I place for my father."_

_

* * *

_"Yeah, that's right! Stay out!" Redseb yelled as the Ponchi, Conchi, and Kororo herded the frightened villagers outside. He laughed as he set the sturdy wooden slab across the door. But he didn't notice the pale, cloaked man behind him.

* * *

"_Two I place for my mother."_

_

* * *

_"Stop!" Pirika shrieked as Matilda shot Ren in the shoulder.

The homicidal girl turned her sights to Pirika. "And then." She reloaded her gun. "There was." She put her finger to the trigger. "One." She lifted and aimed at the other girl.

* * *

"_Three I place for my brothers back home."_

_

* * *

_"Little girls should stick to playing with their dolls," Blocken cackled as he walked towards Tamao who stood protectively in front of Seyram.

* * *

"_Here I offer my flesh to aid your soul's release."_

_

* * *

_"Why won't you just _die_ already?" Hang Zang-Ching growled as he picked up a nearby table and brought it down crashing onto Horohoro's exposed leg.

* * *

"_Hear my voice at world's end and arise."_

_

* * *

_"Matamune, no!" But it was too late. The cat was batted out of the way like a lifeless rag doll by Peyote. Matamune had jumped in front of Yoh to take the blow for him. "I have to get to Anna."

* * *

"_Hear the sounds of my prayer beads and draw—"_

_

* * *

_"Oh, Anna. I see what you're trying to do. But let me tell you a secret." The demon whirled around to see the Asakura boy walking towards her. However, it wasn't the brother she had hoped for. Hao smiled. "It isn't going to work."

"Shut up, Hao." Anna let the beads fall around her wrists. She had been so close to finishing her mantra. _Just a couple more minutes and it would've been done_.

"Just like old times, hmmm? You all scared and helpless while I am about to ruin your life once again." The shaman snapped his fingers and the Spirit of Fire burst into life behind him. "Any last words?"

"Go to hell." Hao reeled back slightly, his hand to his face where Anna had slapped him.

"Feisty as always." He licked his lips. "Spirit of—"

"Stop." Both demon and shaman turned to see who had joined them on the roof.

"Mikihisa, stay out of this." Hao looked annoyed. "This doesn't concern you."

_What is he doing. He can't possibly expect to stand up to Hao and one of the holy deities_. Anna bit her lip. _Wait…_She noticed that the man had been walking extremely slowly as he rambled on. _I see what he's doing. He's stalling for me_.

* * *

_Please, don't let me be too late. Please, Great Spirit, I've served you for all of my life. I'm just asking you for this one thing. Protect her._ Yoh bounded up the steps two at a time, racing towards the roof, Hao, Anna, and his fate.

* * *

Anna flicked her wrists and the beads jumped back around her fingers. Her hands began to move and the necklace danced through her fingertips.

* * *

Yoh was getting dizzy already as the stairs seemed to go on forever. He could still hear screams and he prayed again that it wasn't his friends who were in trouble.

* * *

"_And draw nigh_," she whispered.

Then the heavens rumbled and began to cry.

* * *

Pirika paused in the middle of the knot she was tying around the wrists of a knocked out Matilda. "What was that?" The orange haired girl groaned as she regained consciousness. "Quiet, you." She picked up the other girl's discarded gun and bonked her in the head with it. Matilda sunk back down to the floor.

Redseb began bouncing up and down amid all of Hao's unconscious disciples. "It worked! It worked! Oh-Oni performed the seal! She did it!"

Tamao put a hand to her heart before she returned to fixing a splint for Horohoro's leg. "Thank the Great Spirit." She sighed happily. "And thank you very much…?"

"Amidamaru and Bason at your service." The two family guardians smiled.

"If you two didn't show up at the last second, we would've been goners, for sure." Horohoro clapped both of them on the back.

"Hmph," Ren grunted. "Ouch!" Pirika had purposely tugged hard on the bandages she had been wrapping around his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Would it kill you to say thanks to them?" They all laughed, thankful that it was all over.

* * *

"What…what…" Yoh couldn't believe his eyes. "Where did Hao go? And the Spirit of Fire?"

His father turned to him. "She did it! She performed the seal. It's done. We can all be at peace now." They both smiled.

"Anna!" Yoh's happiness was short lived as the girl collapsed onto the floor.

"Yoh…" She looked up at him.

"But you sealed both of them away. Did he hurt you before…?" He began to panic as he saw the life slipping away from her.

She shook her head and pressed the beads into his hands. He looked at the last glowing blue stone and it began to flicker before it went completely out.

"The seal requires a…sacrifice of some…sort." She coughed violently.

"No! I-I-I know a healer from a nearby village. Her name is Lady Sati, I can bring you to her and she can—"

"Yoh…it's not going to work. Today was the last…day of the curse. Now there's no way that I can ever…leave the castle. Even if…you brought her here and she was able to resurrect me…I'd remain in Oh-Oni form forever." Her voice got weaker by the second. "I'm dying, Yoh."

"No, I can't let you die! I can't." He strengthened his hold on her.

"You have to." She closed her eyes before her breathing became shallower.

"If you knew all of this, then why? Why did you fight so hard? Why?" His nails dug deeper into his palms.

"I wanted to protect you," she whispered. "Because for the first time…I had something worth fighting for." She used her remaining strength to look up at him.

And then everything went dark.

* * *

**A/N**: OMFG ANNA CAN'T DIE! D= hahah well _I_ know what's going to happen. (but that's probably what you were all thinking =P) aww there's only one (or two if I'm feeling particularly creative) chapter(s) left before it's all over! Review? =) it will _make my day._ seriously. and check out my other stories!

i think after _Yoh and the Oni_ is over, I'll try making a RenPiri fic based on _The King and I_ for my next fairy-tale-ish story =) how does that sound?

don't forget to leave a review! ;)


	7. Unexpectedly

**VII. Unexpectedly**

**

* * *

**"What did you say?" Anna's eyes widened in shock.

Yoh hurriedly wiped at his eyes as he realized that the rest of the gang had joined them on the roof. "Er…"

She pushed herself off of the floor and sat up. "Repeat what you just said."

Yoh could feel everyone's eyes on him as they awaited his answer. "I said…" He mumbled it out.

Ren stared at him. "We can't hear you."

"I said that I love her, happy? I know it's cheesy and stuff and you probably—" Yoh shook his head, his face already bright red. "How is this possible?"

Anna kept blinking in disbelief. "I…I don't know. I'm supposed to be dead right now."

Matamune came forward and coughed into his bandaged paw. "If I may, Oh-Oni? But I suppose I really should be calling you _Anna_ instead now." Everyone turned to him in surprise. "Remember Hao's curse: _You must learn how to love and be loved_. Although you will never admit it, you have indeed learned how to love. Yoh's confession just proved that you have learned how to be loved as well. Thus, the curse was broken."

"But by doing…all of that, it's just supposed to break the curse. Not bring me back to life…" Anna rubbed her forehead in confusion.

"Ah, but you see, remember what he said afterwards? He said that by breaking the curse, it will give you new life."

She nodded. "And we assumed that he meant that I'll be able to resume my life as a human again. Not literally give me a new life. I see…"

Redseb couldn't handle it anymore before he exploded. "So this means we're free now?!" he blurted out loud.

Matamune smiled. "Yes, Redseb, it's time to go home."

"Finally!"

Redseb, Anna, and Matamune all gaped. "Seyram, you can _talk_?" Tamao managed to squeak out.

The little girl merely rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure the village would love to have all of you stay with us," Pirika offered happily. "And I'm sure my _brother_ wouldn't mind having you with us in particular." She winked at Tamao as Horohoro squawked in protest.

"After we take out the trash." Ren cracked his knuckles. "I had Bason contact the Gandhara. They'll be arresting all of Hao's followers and locking them up in Mu."

"What makes you think that Mu will take them?" Pirika pursed her lips in skepticism.

"Do you honestly believe anyone will think they're sane when they say they saw a huge giant thing that was on _fire_ descend from the sky?"

"Point."

"Where are you going?"

Anna turned around before exiting through the door that would take her back down to the castle. "Downstairs to clean up. An entire destroyed castle will be hard work to put back to order for one person."

Yoh jumped up onto his feet. "What are you saying?"

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Well, you and your little village friends will be going back down to Onsen and taking my servants who are no longer bound to me in any way. So might as well start cleaning up if I'm going to live the rest of my human life here—"

"Come on. You know that we would all love for you to join us in the village."

Her arm dropped to her side, her mouth slightly agape. "You…mean that?"

"Don't act like it was unexpected. Of course I do!" Yoh held his hand out to her and with that, he opened a different door. A door that led to a new life filled with the love she had missed out on in her previous one. "It's time to go home."

* * *

"Redseb, settle down! I can't put your cloak on you when you keep moving like that," Tamao said as she tried to pin the little boy down. "There, now that wasn't so hard."

"Tamao, I don't want to wear this! It's choking the life out of me," he grumbled, pulling at the collar.

"You have to remember that Onsen is much colder than in the castle."

Horohoro poked his head into the room and smiled. "Ready?"

"Just about. Seyram! We're leaving now!" Tamao smoothed out the skirts of the dress Horohoro had bought for her a few days ago and smiled. "Let's go."

The four of them set out of the house, Redseb and Seyram momentarily flitting back and forth between Tamao and Horohoro and any new, wonderful things they found fascinating on the way to the council hall. "Finally…" Tamao looked so happy that she could've burst.

"Hmm?"

"It's been so long…They finally get a chance to…" She smiled sadly. "To be kids."

Kororo tackled the two children, sending them tumbling. The white snow wolf wagged her tail happily and seized Seyram and Redseb by the hem of their cloaks and dragged them into the warm council hall. Horohoro and Tamao simply laughed and joined everyone inside.

"…and _that's_ how we defeated Hao!" Pirika finished her story, triumphantly slapping her palm down on the wooden desk for emphasis.

"I can't believe you guys did all of that without me!" Chocolove seethed, scowling. "Why do I always miss all the fun stuff?" He crossed his arms in front of him, Mic nudging against his legs in a futile attempt at comforting him.

"You're telling the story wrong." Anna frowned as Yoh shrugged and gave the Ainu girl a _Well-what-can-you-do_ look.

Ren nodded in agreement. "That isn't how it goes at all," he snapped dismissively. "Let _me_ tell it—"

"She's back! She's back!"

"Jun?" Pirika asked breathlessly. "Ren, she's back! Come on!"

The leader and her new husband stepped out of the wedding carriage, the Tao girl looking quite happy with herself. "Hello, everyone!"

"Jun, took you long enough…" Horohoro grinned up at his co-leader.

"Sorry, sorry," she said smilingly. "Ah, I see some new faces here! So, did I miss anything while I was gone?"

Horohoro and Tamao simply exchanged looks. Pirika giggled nervously. Ren rolled his eyes. Yoh reached forward and put his hand on Anna's shoulder. Redseb and Seyram looked up innocently at her.

"Nope. Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

Later that evening, Jun decided to kidnap her brother for some much needed sibling bonding (to his very obvious dismay of course).

"Ren, how do you like being leader?" She looked at him proudly as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass.

"I'm a Tao. How do you think it feels?" he smirked.

She laughed. "Good, good. That's perfect then." Her brother leaned forward. "Since Bailong and I are married now…and we want to start a family soon…I…I don't think I would be able to perform my duties as village leader very well. And I talked to a lot of the villagers and the elders and they said you were a tremendous leader. The best in a long time." She rifled through her dress pocket and extracted out a simple black lacquer rectangular box.

"Jun, as much as I would like to retain my power as leader and keep either of the Usui siblings from completely destroying the village with their antics, I still must ask: are you _completely_ sure? Because you are still very talented—"

"I've never been more certain about anything in my entire life." His older sister folded her hands in front of her. "You and that Usui girl…you make a very formidable team. Great cooperation and team dynamics, I must say. And…I'm sure if father were here, he'd say the exact same thing."

Ren blinked at the sudden mention of their father. "Ah. Well, this is…unexpected."

"You know it is true, Ren. He was an outstanding leader. And I'm sure you will be too as well." Jun smiled. "He would be extremely pleased with you right now." She opened the box and drew out a retractable sword

"The Sword of Thunder…"

"…has been passed down from Tao leader to Tao leader ever since history has been recorded…"

"…they say that the Tao ancestor who forged it fashioned the sword out of the very essence of thunder, directly from the deity of the skies."

Jun raised her eyebrows in pleasant surprise and nodded. "Someone's been doing their homework."

"I've been waiting to be leader for _years_, big sister. Of course I would know the legend of the Sword of Thunder." Ren stared admiringly at the ebony and ivory yin-yang crest, the centuries' old Tao family symbol, that dangled from the hilt of the sword.

Jun flicked her wrist and extended the sword to its full length, the blade glinting familiarly in the light of the council hall's fire place. "_As Tao leader, I hereby bequeath unto you, Tao Ren…_"

* * *

"So…"

"Feh, I can't believe you left the entire village in its time of need!" Pirika shook her head.

"I already told you why I needed to leave. Anyways, you got to be leader like you always wanted, didn't you?" Horohoro protested.

Pirika nodded sadly. "Yeah. That reminds me, it's time for me to return your powers to you isn't it?" She stood up to prepare herself for the ritual. "_As temporary Usui_—"

Horohoro sighed loudly, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her down. "Sit back down. I wasn't finished yet! See, that's exactly the reason why I wanted to talk to you."

"What are you—"

"Pirika, let's face it. I'm not the best of leaders. In fact, I suck at it—"

"You're being a little harsh on yourself…"

"No. Really. And I know it. And the village knows it. And Jun knows it. And you know it. And heck, even Redseb knows it and he's only been here for a week. I just wasn't…meant to be a leader. It wasn't what the Great Spirit destined me to do. On the other hand…" He looked up at his sister.

Pirika's eyes widened and her mouth began opening and closing (causing her to look like a very surprised fish). "Horohoro. _Horohoro_. _Big brother_. Are you serious? Really? If this is a joke, it's not very funny!" Pirika held her breath. "Oh, Great Spirit."

"Bet you didn't see this one coming. Pretty unexpected, huh?" She stared at him dumbly. "Would you, Pirika Usui, mind being the permanent, official leader?" Horohoro winked at her playfully.

His sister simply shrieked and tackled him.

"I'll take that as a yes." He pulled out an ivory box and opened it.

"Aaaah, that's—that's—!"

"Yup." He held up an ornately fashioned prayer stick covered in intricate carvings. "The Ikupasi." He handed it to her as she excitedly examined the wooden sword-like artifact.

"Wow, dad sure did a great job with this…" She ran her hand over a carving of two small children that was meant to represent herself and her brother.

"Well, he should've, considering he claimed that he was communing directly with the deity of rain when he was carving it." Horohoro shrugged.

Pirika bit her lip as she came across the charm of the wolf at the end of the Ikupasi. "Our family crest…"

"You've been the best leader since him. He would be proud of you, Pirika. And what you've done for the village."

"Hmph, if he were still here, you mean." She poked at the somber looking wolf before Horohoro plucked the oversized prayer stick from her hands. "He'd be proud of you too..."

"Nah, I was just lazy and worthless to him." He shrugged. "But he put his entire soul into making this, so it's like…it's like he's still with us. And we're here to make sure that he's never forgotten. That we all are never forgotten. We can do this by passing the Ikupasi down from leader to leader. And don't you ever forget that." He bopped her on the nose with the end of the Ikupasi.

She scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Yeah…"

Horohoro cleared his throat. "_As Usui leader, I hereby bequeath unto you, Pirika Usui_…"

* * *

"Hey, Anna. Can I…can I talk to you…"

"I want a traditional wedding with only a few guests."

"Wait—"

"And a single floor house."

"Wha—"

"And to open my own hot springs."

"Uh—"

"And only one son. That is not up for negotiation," Anna said mechanically without looking up from her book.

Yoh's face reddened. "Er…wh-what?"

"You heard me." Anna's mouth was set into a firm, unyielding line.

Yoh grinned. "Let's get married. What do you say?"

The girl closed her book and looked at him as if she were about to close a business deal. "I've been waiting one thousand, eighty years to hear that."

* * *

"So…"

"Leave it."

"So…"

"Leave it."

"_So_…"

"_Leave_ it."

"About that buffalo, Kalim," Silva poked at Kalim mockingly.

"Leave it alone, Silva."

"A deal's a deal…"

Kalim paused hesitantly. "I already lost my buffalo, Silva…"

"What? How?"

"In…another bet…" Kalim hung his head. "I bet that Yoh wouldn't ever ask Anna to marry him. She bet that he would propose by the end of the week. It's like…it's like she's psychic!" the elder cried mournfully.

"Huh, so they _are_ getting married. Talk about unexpected." Silva shook his head. "But…whom did you lose the buffalo to?"

* * *

"Horohoro!" Tamao called happily. "This man gave me his buffalo. Where shall I put it?"

"Huh? Was it Kalim's? He's the only one in the village who has one. How did you manage that? He loves that animal."

Tamao put away her ouji board and all of her other divining equipment. "Lucky bet."

* * *

"Remember last night when you said that you don't think the Great Spirit destined you to be leader?" Pirika asked as she and her brother watched Tamao chase after Redseb and Seyram with the two wolves.

Horohoro nodded. "What of it?" Conchi bounced on top of Redseb.

"When you told me that…it sounded like…" Pirika tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Like…you found out what the Great Spirit did destine for you to do. What…what would that be?" Tamao went over to tend to a scratch Seyram got when she fell on the ground.

Horohoro grinned sheepishly. "I know this is going to sound crazy but I think…I think it's, I dunno, _fate_ that I met her. I think…the Great Spirit up in the sky wanted me to meet her and be with her. And take care of her because everyone knows she deserves it after 1080 years or so."

Pirika smiled as Tamao comforted a crying Redseb after Ponchi took off with his ball. "I remember…the first day you met her. You came back down to the village, blabbering about how you saw Damuko. I hope…" She paused, unsure of how to phrase her thoughts. "I hope that Tamao doesn't just become a replacement for whatever wound Damuko left in you."

Her brother nodded. "I know. I think…I think at first she kind of did. And she knew it too. But then I realized that she's so much more than just a simple substitute. She's too much of her own person to ever be just like a bandage over that wound. She's Tamao." He looked at the pink haired girl fondly as she carried Redseb on her back. "And I can only hope she'll have me."

"That's surprisingly insightful, Horo."

"I know, right? Kind of unexpected, considering it's me. Anyways, enough about my life. What's your first decision going to be as official leader?" He leaned backwards in his chair.

"Well, Ren and I were talking about it…I think it would be smart to enact some reformation concerning the Book."

Horohoro raised his eyebrows. "Really? Why is that?"

"Just because of the whole Oh-Oni fiasco…it really showed how outdated and ridiculous some of the rules and regulations are because we choose to guide the entire village according to an ancient text that hardly applies to us now."

He nodded. "I see…"

"And we don't even know who wrote or how credible it is. I mean, we all believed that the elders were you know…like the law of the land. That they had our best interests at heart. And then we found how corrupt and selfish and stuff they were before." Pirika began wildly gesturing with her hands as soon as she knew she was on a roll. "We can't let a simple text guide our village, especially when each member of Onsen is so different and complex. At least, we can't interpret the Book literally when making decisions, you know?"

"Surprisingly insightful, Pirika." Horohoro smirked.

"I know, right? Kind of unexpected, considering it's me," she shot back.

* * *

And thus, that's the end of the trials, tribulations, and eventual happiness of the villagers of Onsen. In a matter of a few months, Yoh and Anna were married with Silva presiding over the traditional ceremony. Anna did indeed open a highly successful onsen, its business further supplemented by rumors that the place was run by a 1098 year old former demon. And much to Anna's dark delight, she hired Matilda as a waitress, fresh out of Mu, and works her to the bone. Both Anna and Yoh travel frequently to many different countries. The reason for this is still unexplained. However, their constant absence has caused Hana to be virtually brought up by Tamao. The two also indeed had one son whom they named Hana and officially adopted Redseb and Seyram. Redseb has since stopped calling Yoh "Mister" and now alternates between "big brother" and "dad." They all live together in (surprise) a one floor house.

Tamao actually did accept Horohoro and it was only a matter of time before the two finally got married. They happily tell everyone that for now, Ponchi, Conchi, and Kororo are enough children for them at this point. Horohoro later also found out that the Great Spirit had destined him on doing two things in his life: caring for Tamao and beginning reforestation in the surrounding land of Onsen. Tamao occasionally is receiving lessons from Hang Zang-Ching and is alternating her time between training to become the hostess at Anna's onsen and becoming a relatively famous enka singer. Most of the time, Tamao watches over the onsen since Anna is gone most of the time. Both Tamao and Horohoro frequently visit the Asakura household and have become a second mother and father to Seyram, Redseb, and Hana. And he has never called her Damuko since.

Ren and Pirika eventually became known as the greatest leaders of Onsen and they did in fact reform and modernize the village, greatly boosting Onsen's wealth, wiped out a large amount of the corruption in the village's legal system and worked to improve conditions in Mu. They issued a formal apology on the behalf of the elders to Anna and nominated Matamune to fill in Nichrom's spot as elder. It was nearly inevitable that the two would somehow (not that either of them would admit it) confess their feelings and end up together. The two often visit Jun and Bailong who are trying to start a family (no success yet). Ren set up a trade system and frequently leaves Onsen to establish relations with the other villages and cities, leaving Pirika totally in charge of the village. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Kalim never did get his buffalo back. And he never did find out that Tamao kept winning all of their bets because she was a diviner.

And, as expected, they all lived quite happily ever after.

_**The End.**_

_**

* * *

**_**A/N:** oh my goodness! it's over. so how did you like it? =) of course I wouldn't let Anna die! what are you? crazy? please, please, **please** leave a review. I'd love to hear what you think. I tried to retain the integrity of the original Beauty and the Beast story (which is my favorite Disney movie of all time) while adding some other aspects like the whole village leader thing and let me tell you, it took a lot of work and thinking and planning to write _Yoh and the Oni_. especially this chapter. a thousand apologies to the folks who are keeping tabs on _Critical Condition_. this chapter took forever to write and it was painful and long and drawn out. kind of like giving birth. but now i'm ready to solely focus on writing _Critical Condition_. i would love to hear from you! review and happy days =)


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